Abstract

ROSAS, Lidia V  and  AVILA, Julio C. Mine Development In Pirquitas, Jujuy Province. Ser. correl. geol. [online]. 2013, vol.29, n.2, pp.33-42. ISSN 1666-9479.

Minas Pirquitas is located in the province of Jujuy, at an average height of 4300 masl. It lies in the northwest of Puna morphostructural province and in the south of Bolivian Tin Belt. Is a hydrothermal Ag-Sn-Zn deposit of Miocene age placed in Ordovician sedimentites belongs to Acoite Formation. Pirquitas is the largest historical producer of tin in Argentina. Tin placer deposits were first discovered in the area at the beginning of the decade of 1930. The lodes of tin and silver were discovered and mining started in 1935, with high-grade veins being mined until 1990. The largest mines were San Miguel, Chocaya and Potosí. firom 1995 geophysical surveys, geological mapping, sampling, and drillings programs were developed. The new project began to be executed in 2008. The same one includes mainly the realization of an open pit whose production reaches 6000 t/day to feed a new treatment plant. In this contribution is carried out a brief description of the mining development of Pirquitas, which one, contrary to the majority of the deposits in the world, has been mined first by underground methods (veins system by Shrinkage) and later on by opencast (veins, stockworks, breccias and disseminated mineralization by open pit). This peculiar sequence of mining is due to the successive investigations carried out in the area that modifed the characteristics, dimensions, mineral reserves and model of the deposit.

Keywords : Mina Pirquitas; Ag-Sn-Zn; Shrinkage; Open pit.

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