Last Tuesday McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE:MUX) reported that a commando unit of eight masked heavily-armed robbers walked away with an estimated 900 kilograms of gold-bearing concentrate containing approximately 7,000 ounces of gold, worth $8.5 million at current prices, from its El Gallo mine in the Northern Mexican state of Sinaloa. McEwen Mining said that the crime is being "vigorously investigated" by the Mexican authorities.
While no suspects have been detained, the Sinaloa cartel--which despite the arrest of its leader Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán continues its criminal activities unabated--is an obvious suspect. McEwen's mine is located in the foothills of the mountains where the Sinaloa cartel has its world headquarters and where El Chapo hid for over a decade.
In an interview with Canada's News Network last week, Rob McEwen, the company's Chairman and CEO, did not rule out that the robbery could have been the work of the cartels. McEwen acknowledged that "the cartels are active" in the area, but said: "Generally we had a good relationship with them. If we want to go explore somewhere, you ask them, and they tell you no, but then they'll say come back in a couple of weeks when we've finished with what we are doing…" He said that up to this date it hadn't been dangerous to operate in Mexico.
McEwen, who owns 25 % of the mining company, said the robbery happened early in the morning, when a commando group of an estimated eight people, "all clad, masked on, and heavily-armed," apprehended a number of workers in their way to work. Once in the property, "they captured a couple other security people and put them in the lunch room, and broke into the refinery and drove away with 7,000 ounces of gold concentrate," McEwen explained.
McEwen described the robbery as "very well planned," since the thieves were able to get all the people with keys to open the doors of multiple safe guards, combinations, lock and pad locks.
"They knew the layout of the operations and they seemed to have a good knowledge of inside our refinery," McEwen further said, implying they had inside help. The company will take additional measures to improve security.
McEwen Mining maintains insurance against these types of incidents and said that it is working closely with its insurance carrier to determine the extent of available coverage. However, the company said, the "policy will not be sufficient to cover the entire expected loss."
No employees were seriously injured and there was no material damage to any of the company's facilities. Mining and processing activities have not been impacted and continue uninterrupted, the company added.
McEwen Mining is the latest victim of crime. Kidnapping, robbery and even murder appears to be the cost of doing business in crime-ridden parts of Mexico, one of the world’s largest mining centers.
Manuel Reyes, president of a Mexican Association of Mining Engineers, told The Wall Street Journal that engineers, company executives and even rank and file miners have been extorted and kidnapped in recent months, almost certainly by criminal gangs. “It’s a daily danger,” Reyes said. “It’s organized crime besieging people.”
Twitter: @DoliaEstevez
