/EXPLORATION & MINING GEOLOGY
Metamorphic Mexico: The Sierra Madre Occidental
by Jane Lockwood, Spotlight Mining
Abundant gold and silver in the Sierra Madre Occidental have driven colossal enterprise over the last two centuries, with Mexico standing in 2017 as the world’s largest silver producer (200 Moz/year) and eighth largest in gold (125 t/ year), chiefly sourced from this mountain range. This is in the face of significant difficulties in obtaining geological and other data, especially until the turn of the 21st century, thanks in large part to the presence of the Sinaloa and Los Zetas drug cartels in the region causing high levels of risk for greenfield exploration. Nonetheless, the lure of precious metals has been strong enough to establish both large and small mining operations in the region, with the mountains hosting several world-class Au-Ag deposits.
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Coring Magazine #16
