Precious metals miner Coeur Mining has achieved commercial production at its newly expanded Rochester silver and gold mine, in Nevada, on March 31.
The company reported this week that the new three-stage crushing circuit and truck load-out facility had been successfully commissioned on March 7. Since then, the crushing circuit has demonstrated impressive performance, operating at an average throughput of nearly 70 000 t/d and exceeding 88 000 t/d. This achievement has led to the declaration of commercial production by the end of the first quarter, in line with expectations.
Ramp-up efforts are progressing as planned, with the mine on track to reach its full design capacity of 88 000 t/d, equivalent to about 32-million tons a year, by the first half of 2024.
About 9.3-million tons of ore have already been placed on the new Stage 6 leach pad, which, together with the recently commissioned Merrill Crowe processing facility, positions the mine for materially higher production levels anticipated throughout the second half of 2024.
Upon reaching full capacity, Coeur expects throughput levels to increase about 2.5 times higher than historical levels, solidifying Rochester's position as one of the world's largest openpit heap leach operations.
Further, the mine is anticipated to become the US’s biggest source of domestically produced and refined silver, serving as a significant driver of cash flow growth for the company.