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El Limon

Producer in Leon, Nicaragua with commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Arsenic, Zinc, Copper, Antimony, Cobalt, Strontium, Rubidium, REE, Selenium, Zirconium
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Alteration
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Ownership information
  16. Production statistics
  17. Reserves and resources
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10086133
MRDS ID W702059
Record type Site
Current site name El Limon
Alternate or previous names Complejo Minero Francisco Meza Rojas, Sepentrion Mine, Talavera Mine. La India Mine. Veins Include: Limon, Panteon, Talavera, San Luis, Santa Francisca, Santa Pancha, Atravezada Travezada. South and North Pit, Tajo Central Pit.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -86.7361, 12.75095 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 500(meters)
Relative position 25 MILES NE OF LEON IN LOWLANDS. TOWN OF MINA EL LIMON, FOR WHICH LAT/LONG ARE GIVEN ABOVE, IS 35 KM NNE OF LEON AND 80 KM NW OF MANAGUA., Acc +/- 10 Sec, Acc +/- 10 Sec, Acc +/- 10 Sec, Acc +/- 10 Sec

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Leon(province)

Nicaragua(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Nicaragua Leon

Comments on the location information

  • MINE EXTENDS ABOUT 5 KM E AND W OF TOWN AND 3 KM N AND S OF TOWN. TALAVERA MINE IS 2.5 KM W OF OPEN PITS.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Lead Tertiary
Arsenic Critical Tertiary
Zinc Critical Tertiary
Copper Tertiary
Antimony Critical Tertiary
Cobalt Critical Tertiary
Strontium Tertiary
Rubidium Critical Tertiary
REE Critical Tertiary
Selenium Tertiary
Zirconium Critical Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • BANDED QUARTZ AND SILICIFIED BRECCIA WITH PYRITE, SMALL AMOUNTS OF CHALCOPYRITE, SPHALERITE, ARSENOPYRITE, ALTAITE AND GOLD TELLURIDES.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Acanthite Ore
Altaite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Electrum Ore
Galena Ore
Hematite Ore
Molybdenite Ore
Powellite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Chlorite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Silicic And Argillic Alteration For Many Meters Around Veins, Introduction Of Sio2 And H2o Removal Of And Propyllitization And Formation Of Zones Rich In Talc, Kaolin, Serpentine And Pyrite. Oxidation.

Analytical data

Result 105 PPM SB, 1-8 PPM CO, 10'S PPM PB, AS, ZN, CU

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Mafic Intrusive Rock
    Rock unit name Upper Coyal Group
    Rock description Upper Coyal Group
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Pliocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Pyroclastic Rock > Tuff
    Rock unit name Lower Coyol Group
    Rock description Lower Coyol Group

Nearby scientific data

(1) -86.7361, 12.75095
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Nw-Se Regional Faults Parallel To Nicaraguan Depression About 7-8 Km Apart, Include Galileo, Santa Rosa, And Tecomapa Fault Zones
Type of structure Local
Structure description Nne To Ne Trending Lineaments; Ew Alignments Form Ridges And Fault Valleys S Of Town Of Limon.

Ore body information

  • Name GENERALIZED DEPOSIT
    General form TABULAR
    Strike VARIABLE}}
    Dip 50-55 DEGREES}}
    Thickness 600M
    Length 4000M
    Width 12M
  • Name NORTH AND SOUTH PIT
    General form TABULAR
    Dip 50-55 DEGREES}}
    Width 6M
  • Name TALAVERA, I AND II ESTE
    General form TABULAR
    Dip 50-55 DEGREES}}
    Width 6M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • In Veins (N-S Or Nw-Se) Formed In Caldera-Related Structures (?); Veins And Stringers.

Comments on the geologic information

  • FLUID INCLUSION, PANTEON VEIN <1.8 WT % NACL EQUIV. AT 170DEGREES TO 230 DEGREES C. UPPER COYOL GROUP: GREATER THAN 200 M, BASALT FLOWS, RHYOLITE DOMES. LOWER COYOL GROUP: GREATER THAN 300 M, ANDESITES, AGGLOMERATES.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Medium
Significant No
Discovery year 1935
Production years 1941-1977, 1980-1992

Mining district

District name Matagalpa Area, Limon

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Empresa Minera De Nicaragua, Changed Name To Empresa Minera Del Sepentrion.
    First year 1937
  • Type Operator
    Owner Nicaraguan Ministry Of Mines (Inmine). Triton Mining.
  • Type Owner
    Owner Noranda
    Interest 60
  • Type Owner
    Owner Nicaraguan Ministry Of Mines (Inmine) (Reopened The Mine)
    Interest 60
    First year 1970
  • Type Owner
    Owner Triton Mining
    Interest 60
    First year 1994

Production statistics

  • Year 1977
    Period 1941-1977
    Material ORE
    Description Cp_Grade: ^14.4 G/T Au (0.42 Oz/T Au)
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Gold Gold 14g/mt

Comments on the production information

  • MOSTLY SANTA PANCHA AND LIMON VEINS, ALSO ATRAVEZADA, RINCON GARCIA, AND MINA DE AGUA. 450 TPD SINCE 1944. PRODUCTION TO GO TO 50,000 OZ AU (1944). IN 1979, LIMON MINE WAS PRODUCTIING 60,000 OZ OF AU PER YEAR.

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1991
    Total resources 1583369000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 5.5 g/mt Gold Major 1991
    Silver Ag 4.69 g/mt Silver Minor 1991
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1995
    Total resources 19000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Gold Au 5 g/mt Gold Major 1995

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • NEWELL WILL STEP UP PRODUCTION TO 750 TPD THEN TO 1000 TPD. COST FOR NEW MILL $6.25 MILLION, COMPLETION DUE JUNE 1966.
  • PROVEN AND PROBABLE ORE RESOURCE WITH 3.0 G/TONNE CUT-OFF GRADE.

Comments on the workings information

  • RICH ORE SHOOTS CAN BE 200-500 M LONG, 100-250 M DEEP AND 1-3 M THICK, 6-20 G/T AU, LARGE VOLUMES OF LOW GRADE ORE (3 G/T) MINED IN 1980'S FROM OPEN PITS. WORKED ON A SMALL SCALE FROM END OF 1900'S TO 1913 WITH BRITISH CAPITAL. ACQUIRED IN 1930'S BY EMPRESA MINERA DE NICARAGUA. CHANGED NAME TO EMPRESA MINERA DEL SEPENTRION. FROM 1937 ON IT WAS 61% OWNED BY NORANDA. IT STARTED PRODUCTION IN 1941 AND CLOSED IN LATE 1970'S DUE TO POLITICAL UNREST. REOPENED BY INMINE. GOLD GRADES DROPPED TO 0.36 OZ/T IN 1977 WHEN PROBLEMS WITH HOT WATER MADE ACCESS TO THE LOWER LEVELS OF SANTA PANCHA IMPOSSIBLE. THIS DIFFICULTY HAS PERSISTED IN SANTA PANCHA TO THE PRESENT. PROPERTY INCLUDES TWO OPEN PITS AND TALAVERA UNDERGROUND 2.5 MILES TO THE WEST. CONCESSION INCLUDES PAST PRODUCER, LA INDIA. 1994 SOUTH PIT AND TALAVERA IN OPERATION. NORTH AND SOUTH PIT, TAJO CENTRAL PIT. NORTH AND SOUTH PIT PREVIOUSLY MINED BY UNDERGROUND METHODS.

Comments on development

  • DEVELOPMENT OF TALAVERA-SANTA EMILIA VEIN SYSTEM. ; ECON.YEAR: 1913; 1941; 1948; 1 ; ECON.COM: 2 MT OF RESERVES. 6.8 G/T WILL ENABLE MILLING CAPACITY TO GO FROM 500 T/D TO 600 T/D. THE PLANT CLOSED IN 1913 TREATED 70 TPD. IN 1941 A MILL TREATED 300 TPD, AND IN 1978 WAS UPGRADED TO 450 TPD. ANNUAL PRODUCTION TO GO TO 100,000 IN 2-3 YEARS (1994). MILL EXPANSION PLANNED TO 1000 TONS PER DAY (1994) TO INCREASE ANNUAL OUTPUT FROM 26000 OZ TO 50,000 OZ. ; MILL.CAP : 70, 300, 450 TPD

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    INSTITUTO CENTROAMERICANO DE INVESTIGACION Y TECNOLOGIA INDUSTRIAL (ICAITI), 1970, MAPA METRALOGENETIO DE AMERICA CENTRAL; 1:2000000 & ESTUDIOS METALOGENETICOS DE AMERICA CENTRAL: PUBLICIONES GEOLOGICAS DEL ICAITI NUMERO III, 76 P.

  • Deposit

    GLEASON, R.J., 1977, WALL-ROCK ALTERATION AND MINE WATER ANALYSES OF THE PANTEON VEIN SYSTEM, LIMON, NICARAGUA: UNPUBLISHED M. SC. THESIS, HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, 105 P.

  • Deposit

    MINING JOURNAL, LONDON, AUGUST 23, 1991, VOL. 317, NO. 8136, P. 135.

  • Deposit

    ROBERTS, R.J., AND IRVING, E.M., 1957, MINERAL DEPOSITS OF CENTRAL AMERICA: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1034, P. 190.

  • Deposit

    SANCHEZ G., SONIA, REYES C., MANUEL, TREVINO, JUAN P., ET AL, 1982, INFORME NO. 3/81, ESTUDIO DE CHARACTERIZACION DE SIETE MUESTRAS COLECTADAS EN EL YACIMIENTO DE ORO DE "EL LIMON", REPUBLICO DE NICARAGUA, DEPARTMENTO LEON: CHIHUAHUA, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO, 28 P.

  • Deposit

    HALENIOS, ULF, 1983, UNA INVESTIGACION MINERALIGICA DE LOS DEPOSITOS AURIFEROS TIPO VETA EN LA LIBERTAD, EL LIMON Y RINCON GARCIA, NICARAGUA: MANAGUA, NICARAGUA, SGAB, 14 P.

  • Deposit

    SUNDBLAD, KRISTER, 1985, TRACE ELEMENT DISTRIBUTION IN THE NICARAGUAN AURIFEROUS DEPOSITS - A RECONAISSANCE STUDY: MANAGUA, NICARAGUA, SGAB, 12 P.

  • Deposit

    KONDAKOV, LA.A., AND NABROVENKOV, O.S., 1983, OCNOVNYYE CHERTY METALOGENII NIKARAGUA: IZVESTIA AKADEMII NAUK SSR SERIYA GEOLOGICHESKAYA, V. 1983, P. 91-104.

  • Deposit

    LILLJEQUIST, ROBERT, AND HODGSON, GLEN, 1983, STRUCTURES AND ROCK FORMATIONS RELATED TO PRECIOUS METAL VEIN DEPOSITS IN NI: MINING JOURNAL, LONDON, SEPTEMBER 11, 1992, V. 319, NO. 8190, P. 175.

  • Deposit

    U.S. EMBASSY MANAGUA, 1993, A LOOK AT NICARAGUA'S MINING SECTOR: DEPARTMENT OF STATE CABLE, 8/93.

  • Deposit

    CHRISTIE, BRIAN, 1994, TRITON BOOSTS RESERVES AT NICARAGUAN MINE: THE NORTHERN MINER, V. 80, NO. 31, P. 1.

  • Deposit

    ROBERTSON, ROB, 1995, TRITON BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO LIMON: THE NORTHERN MINER, MARCH 27, 1995, V. 81, NO. 4, C-1 TO C-2.

  • Production

    MINING JOURNAL, LONDON, AUGUST 23, 1991, P. 135. AU & AG ROBERTS AND IRVING, 1957; U.S. EMBASSY MANAGUA (1993).

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1930'S; TALAVERA DEPOSIT-1980'S
Deposit THICKNESS RANGES FROM 15-25 FT. BRECCIATED AND BANDED TEXTURES; TEMPERATURE OF FORMATION 120-270 DEGREES C BASED ON FLUID INCLUSION WITH <1.8% NACL EQUIVALENT FROM PANTEON VEIN; AU/AG=1; FINENESS OF AU - 775-785; AU CONTENT 8.3 G/T AU (ELECTRUM); MOST COMMON GRAIN SIZE 10-40 MICRONS; AU OCCURS AS FREE GRAINS IN QUARTZ, INCLUDED IN AND INTERGROWN WITH PYRITE AND WITH HEMATITE. ONE VERY RICH SAMPLE (50 OZ/T) HAD FE-RICH MOLYBDENITE MOST ABUNDANT MINERAL, FORMING IRREGULAR VEINLETS IN A MATRIX OF FINE GRAINED QUARTZ-PYRITE AND ELECTRUM. OCCURRED IN ROUNDED GRAINS ABOUT 80 MICRONS, PARTLY OR WHOLEY SURROUNDED BY MOLYBDENITE. SOME 200 MICRON POWELITE (CAMOO4) GRAINS FILLING CAVITIES IN QUARTZ. LENGTH OF ZONE 1-4 KM, 1-12 M WIDE, UP TO 600 M DEEP. ORE BODY 2: VEINS CONTAIN BANDED AND RESILICIFIED BRECCIA, GOLD OCCURS IN BOTH. ORE BODY 3: 2 PARALLEL VEINS.
Deposit THE SANTA PANCHA MINE IS PLAGUED BY AN ABUNDANCE OF HOT WATER. MOST OF THE UPDATED DATA COMES FROM "GREY" LITERATURE. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-90 Bliss, James D. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-OCT-91 Pierce, Herbert A. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-FEB-92 Page, Norman J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-92 Venable, Margaret U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-DEC-93 Page, Norman J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 14-NOV-94 Pierce, Herbert A. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 10-FEB-95 Page, Norman J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-APR-95 Page, Norman J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

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