Sonora: Armed Hold Up on the Highway, Millions in Gold Bars Stolen

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Imparcial y Debate y Infobae

Sonora:   The theft of 47 gold bars, equivalent to 722 kilograms, was recorded Friday night when it was being transported in a vehicle of a securities company on the International Highway on the Sonoyta section.

The company produced a total of 94 ingots between July, August and September, so the armed group took half of the production of that period. The estimated value of the 47 stolen gold bars would reach a value greater than 500 million pesos, this according to El Universal, (ie approx $25 million USD.)

An armored truck of the SVD company, owned by the Noche Buena mining company, a subsidiary of the Corporation Fresnillo PLC, was intercepted by heavily armed individuals, who beat the three security guards who were traveling in the vehicle , sustained injuries and the thieves took the millions of gold bullion.

Federal Police elements were the first to move to the site after receiving the report. However, the thieves had already fled by then, leaving the injured guards. The National Guard collaborates with the Sonora Prosecutor to find those responsible for this millionaire robbery.

At the time of the robbery, the security guards carried three revolvers. The thieves beat and disarmed them, although authorities reported that the injured are stable. They do not know, for the moment, who was able to carry out the assault and what is their modus operandi.

The precious metal belongs to the Noche Buena mine, which operates in the Caborca ​​region and is located 120 kilometers from the municipal capital.

The incident occurred at 9:10 p.m. last Friday on the International Highway Road section to Sonoyta, Sonora at kilometer 157, and was reported to the authorities; the first respondents were the agents of the Federal Police.

The  Fresnillo Corporation has in the State of Sonora the gold mines Noche Buena and Herradura; In addition, it is also dedicated to the production of silver in the Saucito and Fresnillo miners, in Zacatecas and San Julián, in the region between Durango and Chihuahua, among other projects, according to the firm's information. 

The fall in the production of the Fresnillo company:

The 47 bullion that took the criminals had a value of about 524,000,000 pesos, according to the current price of the metal. According to magazine data, the Fresnillo PLC company managed to produce a total of 94 ingots between July, August and September, so that the armed group took half of the production of that period.

Last October, the economic newspaper Expansión reported that the production of Mexican miner Fresnillo had fallen in the last quarter. Specifically, gold mining fell by about 7%, to 209,800 ounces.

This fall in the production of this metal was due, in part, to a smaller volume of ore processed in the mines of San Julián, La Herradura and Noche Buena. It also registered a significant decline in the extraction of silver, with a fall of 14.5%.

According to Reuters , Fresnillo cut annual forecasts in July, to target ranges of between 58 and 61 million ounces of silver, and between 910,000 and 930,000 ounces of gold. And now, the company expects the production amounts to be in the lower range of 55 to 58 million ounces of silver, and between 880,000 and 910,000 ounces of gold , not counting the loss they face after the theft of this weekend of 47 ingots, that is, 18,800 ounces of gold. ( approx $25 Million USD more or less ).

In the past there is documentary evidence that cartels and/or organized crime smuggle the gold to be sold and thus launder money. Another post for another time.