International Mining reader John Baz-Dresch, Shaft Project Superintendent at Pinos altos mine(Agnico-Eagle México) sent in this picture of the almost-complete new hoist installation for his mine. Pinos Altos is located in the Sierra Madre mountain range of Mexico, 220 km west of Chihuahua and lies on a belt of gold and silver deposits. The hoist has been designed to increase the maximum capacity of the underground mine from the current 3,000 t to 4,500 t/d.

DavyMarkham supplied the double drum production hoist. The 3.7 m diameter double drum, single clutch production hoist will have a payload capacity of 10 t, a production rate of 363 t/h and will operate to depths of up to 730 m.

Pinos Altos is expected to produce 159,000 ounces of gold as well as byproduct silver in 2013, and to average 148,000 ounces of gold per year from 2014 to 2015, with a mine life through 2029.