Hochschild Acquires Mexico's San Felipe Outright

Hochschild Mining plc has announced it has acquired 100 percent ownership of the San Felipe project in Mexico from its local partner Grupo Serrana SA de CV, at a cost of US$51.5m.

The original joint venture agreement, signed on 15 May 2006, gave the group the right to earn a 70 percent interest in the San Felipe project.

The transaction closed on 4 June and was paid for by exiting cash, the group says.

Located in northern Sonora Mexico, the land package acquired consists of 24 underground mining concessions and one mining concession application, covering a total of approximately 62,900 hectares.

To date, the company has invested about US$8.8m in the property.

San Felipe is a "significant" growth project for the company and is currently undergoing a feasibility study with production scheduled to start in 2010, Hochschild Mining says.

By Nicola Boyes