Americas Gold and Silver's 2026 technical report for its Cosalá Operations in Sinaloa, Mexico, describes the Los Braceros concentrator. It treated San Rafael ore at about 1,750 t/d and was reconfigured in 2025 to process EC120 ore continuously.
The Cosalá Operations, Sinaloa, Mexico, NI 43-101 Technical Report was prepared for Americas Gold and Silver Corporation, with an effective date of 4 February 2026. San Rafael ore has been the only feed to the Los Braceros plant since November 2017. Los Braceros is a conventional polymetallic concentrator first set up to make zinc and lead concentrates, and its recent throughput has been about 1,750 t/d. EC120 ore was first processed in May 2024 in campaigns that alternated with San Rafael ore, and continuous processing began in August 2025. The plant now runs on EC120 ore at 1,300 t/d and makes only a copper concentrate. No material flowsheet changes are planned for either ore, only incremental gains in throughput, recovery and concentrate quality.
Critical Data
| Parameter | Value | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report effective date | 4 February 2026 | Not applicable | For Americas Gold and Silver Corporation |
| San Rafael throughput | About 1,750 t/d | Not applicable | Zinc and lead concentrates |
| EC120 throughput | 1,300 t/d | Not applicable | Copper concentrate only |
| Crushing | 0.76 x 1.07 m jaw, 1.67 m standard and shorthead cones | Not applicable | Three stages |
| Fine ore bin | 800 | t | Ahead of grinding |
| Grinding | Two 3.0 m x 3.2 m mills, 600 kW each | Not applicable | Primary grinding |
| Regrind | One VXP500 vertical mill | Not applicable | Concentrate regrind |
| Flotation | Wemco 300 ft³ troughs, Wemco 10 m³ tanks, Agitair and Denver cleaners | Not applicable | Lead and zinc circuits |
| Filtration | Four 2.44 m x 3.65 m drum filters | Not applicable | Concentrate at 9 to 10% moisture |
| Copper concentrate | About 650 dry t a month | Not applicable | Trucked to Manzanillo |
| Operating cost | 15.48 (San Rafael), 22.53 (EC120) | USD/t milled | LOM average |
| Power | About 34 | kWh/t | National grid |
| Water recovery | 67 to 75 | % | From tailings thickeners and the TSF |
Overview
Ore is crushed in three stages: a jaw crusher, a standard cone and a shorthead cone. It passes through an 800 t fine ore bin and is ground in two 600 kW mills. For San Rafael ore, the plant runs lead and zinc rougher flotation in Wemco trough and tank cells, cleaning in Galigher Agitair and Denver Sub-A cells, and concentrate regrinding in a VXP500 vertical mill. For EC120 ore, it has been reconfigured to make a single copper concentrate. Concentrates are thickened, filtered on drum filters and trucked to the port of Manzanillo. All tailings go to the existing engineered tailings storage facility (TSF).
Key Process Stages
Crushing and grinding. The three-stage crushing plant feeds the fine ore bin, and two parallel primary mills grind the ore ahead of flotation.
Flotation. San Rafael feed goes through lead and then zinc rougher flotation, with cleaner stages and VXP500 regrinding of concentrate. The EC120 configuration floats copper only.
Concentrate handling. Copper concentrate is thickened by sedimentation and fed at 65% solids to an EIMCO rotary vacuum drum filter. The filter cake comes off at 9 to 10% moisture. Daily production is weighed, stockpiled and trucked to Impala's warehouse in Manzanillo, Colima.
Tailings. The TSF's east and west banks stand at 580 and 582 m above sea level. Raising them to 590 m, the maximum for the current design, is planned by 2028 and covers the life-of-mine plan. Filtered tailings are being evaluated to add 6 to 7 years of storage.
Additional Interesting Data and Summary
EC120 processing costs more per tonne than San Rafael. Power use rises from 32.0 to 34 kWh/t, while reagent costs fall because only one concentrate is made. Fresh make-up water comes from nearby wells.
In summary, the 2026 Cosalá report covers an established three-stage crush, ball mill and flotation plant at Los Braceros. It has moved from San Rafael zinc and lead concentrates to a single copper concentrate from EC120 ore, with no major flowsheet changes planned.
Key Processes
- Three-stage jaw and cone crushing
- Ball milling
- Sequential lead and zinc flotation with vertical mill regrind (San Rafael)
- Copper flotation (EC120)
- Concentrate thickening and vacuum drum filtration
- Tailings deposition in an engineered TSF
Source: Cosalá Operations, Sinaloa, Mexico, NI 43-101 Technical Report, prepared for Americas Gold and Silver Corporation, effective date 4 February 2026.
Earlier report summaries
Earlier versions of this profile, based on older technical reports, are retained below for source traceability. Dates and figures reflect each report’s own effective date and are superseded by the current information above.
San Rafael and EC120 Technical Report
San Rafael and EC120 Technical Report
| Company | Americas Silver Corporation |
| Mine | San Rafael Mine |
| Date | May 17, 2019 |
| Region | Mexico |
| Commodities | Zinc, Lead |
| Mine Type | Underground |
| Throughput | 1,750 tpd |
| Status | Operating |
Executive Summary
This NI 43-101 Technical Report covers the San Rafael Mine and the EC120 Project, both operated by Americas Silver Corporation. The San Rafael mine has been providing ore to the Los Braceros processing plant since November 2017. The Los Braceros plant is a conventional polymetallic concentrator configured to produce zinc and lead concentrates, currently processing approximately 1,750 tonnes per operating day. The operation demonstrates acceptable production performance with no material changes to the process flowsheet planned for the remainder of the mine life.
The EC120 Project represents a future expansion opportunity. Processing from EC120 is expected to commence after the cessation of production from San Rafael. The existing Los Braceros plant can be reconfigured to suit EC120 needs without adding new unit operations or equipment. Lower unit costs are predicted for EC120 due to reduced electricity consumption and a simplified reagent scheme producing a single concentrate. Total operating costs are approximately $15.48 per tonne milled for San Rafael and $12.58 per tonne milled for EC120.
Processing Profile
Equipment Summary
- Crushing: Three-stage crushing with 0.76m x 1.07m jaw crusher, 1.67m standard cone crusher, 1.67m shorthead cone crusher
- Grinding: Two primary grinding mills (3.0m x 3.2m, 600kW each); one VXP500 vertical mill for concentrate regrind
- Flotation: Wemco 300ft³ rougher trough cells (lead and zinc), Wemco 10m³ rougher tank cells (zinc), Galigher Agitair 54C x 40 and Denver Sub-A cleaner cells
- Filtration: Four 2.44m diameter x 3.65m drum filters
- Tailings: Engineered tailing storage facility with planned 5m lifts
Operating Costs
- San Rafael: $15.48/tonne milled
- EC120: $12.58/tonne milled
- Electricity: ~32 kWh/tonne processed (San Rafael), ~29.3 kWh/tonne (EC120)
- Water recovery: 67-75% from tailings thickeners and recirculation
Related Entities
Website: https://americas-gold.com/operations/cosala-operations/san-rafael-mine/
Report Date: May 17, 2019
Region: Mexico
Project Status: Operating
Commodity: Zinc, Lead
Throughput: 1,750 tpd
Mine Type: Underground
Ore type:
