- Pan American Silver Corp. (TSX:PAAS) has temporarily suspended all operating activities at its La Colorada mine in Mexico after an armed robbery
- No personnel were injured in the incident, according to the company
- Pan American Silver said the mine site is secure
- Pan American Silver shares were unchanged at C$18.94 as of 9:38 am ET
Pan American Silver Corp. (TSX:PAAS) (NYSE:PAAS) announced late Thursday that it has temporarily suspended all operating activities at its La Colorada mine in Mexico after an armed robbery at the site.
The Vancouver-based silver- and gold-mining company stated in a news release it was taking action out because of security concerns at the mine site and the surrounding area after an early Thursday armed robbery of two trailers of concentrate.
Pan American Silver said its personnel did not suffer any physical injuries during the incident.
“The mine site is currently secure, and Pan American has activated care and maintenance activities while it works with state and federal authorities regarding this incident,” Pan American’s news release stated.
The suspension of all operations, project work and exploration at La Colorada will continue until Pan American Silver determines it is appropriate to resume operations, according to the company.
La Colorada is in Zacatecas state in central Mexico, and the city of Zacatecas is 648 kilometres northwest of Mexico City. The mine produces silver, lead and zinc and is Pan American’s largest silver producing mine, according to the company’s website.
Back in August, Zacatecas was reported to have the second highest ranking of perception of crime among Mexican cities. Another Zacatecas city, Fresnillo, ranked first. Eduardo Ordóñez told BNamericas that perception statistics are different than risk assessments that include homicide and robbery rates, but he described Zacatecas state as unsafe for residents and companies.
“There are three or four cartels operating in the area that are constantly moving. … The Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel is established, the Cartel del Noreste is moving in, the Sinaloa Cartel is moving in, and there are some [guys] from San Luis Potosí who call themselves Los Alemanes,” Ordóñez told BNamericas, a business intelligence platform focused on Latin America.
“But why are they there? Zacatecas is one of the poorest states in the country and has some of the worst infrastructure. The highways to Zacatecas are terrible – [federal highway] 57 that connects to the northern states that border the United States is in extremely poor condition – but they’re strategic for crime.”
Pan American stated it will provide an update on the situation as more information becomes available.
Pan American Silver is a leading producer of precious metals in the Americas, operating silver and gold mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil.
Pan American Silver Corp. shares were unchanged at C$18.94 as of 9:38 am ET.
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This story was updated after the original publication time to include safety information from BNamericas.