The Torex Gold tunneling team gathers in front of the Guajes Portal to celebrate the breakthrough.
Just before the Christmas break, Torex Gold Resources Inc. completed the breakthrough of the Guajes Tunnel. The tunnel unifies the Morelos Complex in Mexico by connecting the existing operations on the north side of the Balsas River with the growing resource base of the Media Luna Cluster on the south side. Torex Gold operates the Morelos Complex, which includes the El Limón Guajes (ELG) mine complex, the Media Luna project, a processing plant, and related infrastructure.
“The breakthrough of the Guajes Tunnel is a critical milestone in the development of the Media Luna project, which remains on track for first concentrate production in late 2024,” said Jody Kuzenko, president and CEO of Torex. “The Guajes Tunnel will be the primary conduit for transporting ore and waste from the Media Luna deposit on the south side of the Balsas River to the processing plant on the north side.” It will also move miners and materials more efficiently between both locations.
Torex Gold President and CEO, Jody Kuzenko, detonates the final blast to achieve the breakthrough.
The breakthrough was achieved three months earlier than scheduled, primarily driven by world-class advance rates. Rates north to south have averaged 7.1 meters per day (m/d) since the start of 2023, including a record average advance rate of 8 m/d in November. What makes the advance rates truly impressive is that the tunnel is 6.5-m high by 6-m wide and that secondary development and installation of services have kept pace with overall tunnel progress, Kuzenko explained.
“We expect to commence anchor bolting for the 7-km overhead conveyor in early 2024, which will pave the way for the installation and then commissioning of the conveyor in August 2024 well ahead of completing the necessary upgrades to the processing plant,” Kuzenko said.
