Palmarejo Silver-Gold Project
Palmarejo Project
Highlights:
- Tailings and Water Management System Design
- Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Investigations
- Due Diligence Review and Alternatives Assessment
- Quality Assurance Monitoring
- Dam Engineering
Client: Coeur Mexicana S.A. de C.V.
Location: Chihuahua State, NW Mexico
Completion Date: Ongoing since 2007
Project Description: The Palmarejo Project is a silver-gold mine in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range in northwestern Mexico. It consists of an open pit and underground mine with associated milling and processing facilities capable of producing more than 10 million ounces of silver and 110,000 ounces of gold annually over an estimated project life of 10 years.
Knight Piésold’s Role:
Knight Piésold has been involved in the tailings and water management aspect of the project through concept development and design. In this capacity, Knight Piésold provided engineering support for permitting; detailed designs for all dams and appurtenances; due diligence review and alternatives assessments; geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations; and quality assurance monitoring. As a result, Knight Piésold designed four large dams, including two earthfill/rockfill structures (up to 125 m high) for tailings storage, one large earthfill/rockfill structure (80 m high) for water diversion and one roller compacted concrete structure (20 m high) for water storage.
