Pan American Silver Corporation is a

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

company based in Canada with operations in Latin America. The company has mines and other projects in Mexico,

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It is one of the world's biggest silver producers; in 2017 the company extracted 25 million ounces of

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

, 160,000 ounces of

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, 55,300 ounces of

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

, 21,500 tonnes of

Lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, and 13,400 tonnes of

Copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

History

Pan American Silver was founded in April 1994 by Ross Beaty. Beaty had previously founded and run Equinox Resources, which he eventually sold to an American mining company. It listed on

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

in 1995 and acquired its Quiruvilca mine in the same year. In 1998, it acquired the La Colorada Mine in Mexico, and in 2000 it acquired the Huaron mine in Peru. In 2012, Pan American acquired Minefinders Corporation for C$1.5 billion; Minefinders principal asset was the

Dolores Mine Dolores mine is an open pit silver and gold mine in the Mexican state of Chihuaua. It is owned by the Canadian company Pan-American Silver (PAS). The mine began production in 2008 and was expected to produce over $3 billion in profits. in 2010 t ...

in Mexico. In 2018, it temporarily curtailed operations at its Dolores mine in Mexico, due to violence in the area. In 2020, research carried out by EJAtlas,

MiningWatch Canada MiningWatch Canada is a non-governmental organization based in Ottawa, Ontario. Founded in 1999, it acts as a watchdog of Canada's mining industry. MiningWatch is part of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, the Canadian Council for I ...

, Earthworks and the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive think tank, formed in 1963 and based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh (economist), John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 202 ...

found that Pan-American Silver was involved in several

environmental conflicts Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

in Latin America and that these conflicts "demonstrate a lack of respect for communities defending their territories from mining."

Tahoe resources acquisition

In November 2018, Pan American announced it would acquire

Tahoe Resources Tahoe Resources Inc. was a mining company and intermediate precious metals producer with silver and gold mines in Canada, Guatemala and Per ...

, a Nevada-based mining firm with mines in Latin America and Canada, for $1.1 billion or about $5 a share. Tahoe's largest asset was its shuttered Escobal Silver Mine in Guatemala, which faced widespread protests and had significant human rights violations where security guards shot locals, leading to a high profile court case. Markets reacted to the news, with Pan American's share price falling 12% whereas Tahoe's rose 50%. As of 2025, Pan American's Escobal silver mine remains suspended amid ongoing Indigenous consultation as mandated by Guatemala's Supreme Court. The impending result could set a precedent for Indigenous rights across Latin America.

Operations

Pan American has 12 operating mines: *

Cerro Moro mine Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". People * Francisco Cerro (born 1988), Argentine footballer * Francisco Cerro Chaves (born 1957), Spanish prelate, theologian, and philosopher of the Catholic Church * Ian Cerro (born 1996), American f ...

in Santa Cruz, Argentina * La Colorada Mine in

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

, Mexico, with 2017 production of 7.1 MOz of Silver * La Colorada Skarn in Zacatecas, Mexico *

in Chihuahua, Mexico, with 2017 production of 4.2 MOz of Silver * Huarón Mine in

Pasco Region Pasco () is a department and region in central Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in ...

, Peru, with 2017 production of 3.7 MOz of Silver * Jacobina mine in

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, Brazil *

Minera Florida Minera (; ) is a village and Community (Wales), community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It adjoins the village of Coedpoeth. The community, which in addition to Minera village includes a number of smaller hamlets such as Gwynfryn, Wrexham, ...

mine in

Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region () is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are loc ...

, Chile *

Navidad mine Navidad is the Spanish word for Christmas. It may also refer to: Places * Navidad, Chile, a commune in Cardenal Caro Province, O'Higgins Region, Chile * Navidad Formation, a geological formation in Chile * La Navidad, a settlement in what is ...

Chubut Province Chubut ( from Tehuelche language, Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a provinces of Argentina, province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa ...

, Argentina * El Peñón mine in

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...

, Chile * San Vincente Mine in

Potosí Department Potosí (; Southern Quechua, Quechua: ''P'utuqsi''; Aymara language, Aymara: ''Putusi'') is a Departments of Bolivia, department in southwestern Bolivia. Its area is 118,218 km2 and its population is 856,419 (2024 census). The capital is the ...

, Bolivia, with 2017 production of 3.6 MOz of Silver * Shahuindo in

Department of Cajamarca Cajamarca (; ; ) is a department and region in Peru. The capital is the city of Cajamarca. It is located in the north part of the country and shares a border with Ecuador. The city has an elevation of above sea level in the Andes Mountain Ra ...

, Peru * Timmins mine in

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 at the 2021 Canadian census and an estimated population of ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Silver mining companies of Canada