Mining is one of Bolivia’s most important export sectors along with manufactured and non-traditional products as well as hydrocarbons.

The Canadian San Cristóbal Mining Inc. confirmed on Monday that acquired “all the assets” of Minera San Cristóbal (MSC) in Boliviawhich was in the hands of the Japanese company Sumitomo Corporation, and proposed “to make it the largest silver-producing (mine) in the world”.

The president of San Cristóbal Mining Inc., Quinton Hennigh, estimated that “Bolivia is a very attractive mining area” and that the specific case of San Cristóbal is a “very interesting” investment project due to its “production and healthy life profile”.

The open pit deposit is located in the department of Potosí, in the southwest of the country, and is considered one of the “largest in the world” in terms of zinc, lead and silver for its production of zinc-silver concentrates.

Hennigh assured that the surface mining of silver, lead and zinc has a useful life of around seven years while the “silver oxide development project” predicts that the life operation of the deposit will be extended until 2040.

“What’s really appealing is his organic growth potentialfrom the large silver oxide project and the exceptional opportunities to discover new projects,” he said.

The main leader of San Cristóbal Mining Inc. stressed that one of the initial premises is to achieve a “smooth and stable transition” to continue with “solid operational performance” while meeting “environmental, social and governmental” requirements. “.

San Cristóbal is considered the “largest Bolivian private mining project” and has an investment of $1.8 billion with significant infrastructure in roads, bridges and railways, according to company data.

Surface production of silver, lead and zinc means that approximately 150,000 tonnes of rock are mined daily to process some 52,000 tonnes of minerals.

In October last year, Sumitomo Corporation denied making a decision on the sale of its stake in its Bolivian subsidiary MSC due to buyout announcements by a “local consortium”, which was the version that was managed at the time.

Mining is one of Bolivia’s most important export sectors alongside that of non-traditional manufactures and products as well as hydrocarbons.

In 2022, mineral exports reached $2,702 million, according to data from the Ministry of Economy.