Goldcorp Resumes Operations at Los Filos Mine
Mining giant Goldcorp Inc. has resumed all operations at its Los Filos mine in Guerrero State, Mexico, the company announced on May 5. Goldcorp negotiated a settlement for a new land occupancy agreement, which amounted to a five-year term with the Carrizalillo Ejido. Work was suspended at Los Filos since April 2, 2014.
Goldcorp was in intense discussions with Ejido representatives for a month and finalized a solution that resolved the land occupancy issue and safeguarded the long-term sustainability goal of operations amid a lower gold price environment and significantly higher Mexican tax obligations.
Los Filos gold production forecast in 2014 is anticipated to be at the short end of the mine's guidance range of between 330,000 and 345,000 ounces, due to the suspension. Goldcorp has reconfirmed overall company guidance of between 2.95 and 3.10 million gold ounces for the year.
The Los Filos mine, which produced 94,000 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 1.3 percent year over year and 28 percent sequentially, according to Zacks Equity Research. In 2013, gold production from Los Filos was 332,400 ounces.
The Los Filos operation consists of two open-pit mines – Los Filos and El Bermejal – and one underground mine. The open-pit operation began commercial production in January 2008. More than 2,600 people from the surrounding communities are directly employed at the Los Filos mine, and an estimated 10,000 additional jobs have been created as a result of the mine's presence in the region.
Goldcorp’s operating assets include five mines in Canada, and the U.S., three mines in Mexico, and two in Central and South America. Goldcorp also has a number of projects including the Cerro Negro project in Argentina, the Éléonore gold project in Quebec, Canada, the Cochenour project in Ontario, Canada, the El Morro project in Chile and the Pueblo Viejo project (40 percent interest) in the Dominican Republic.
The company recently declared its fifth monthly dividend payment for this year at $0.05 per share. Goldcorp has paid a monthly dividend to its shareholders since 2003.
The massive mining company, based in Vancouver, Canada, is one of the world's fastest growing senior gold producers. Its low-cost gold production is 100 percent unhedged and mined in safe regions throughout the Americas.
