Canada's Agnico-Eagle Mines has inaugurated a large gold and silver mine in Mexico with an investment of $240 million, the Economy Secretariat said.

The Pinos Altos mine is located in the northern town of Ocampo, in Chihuahua state, and is 'one of the most important and modern mining projects in Mexico, with a capacity to process 4,000 tons of material a day in its underground and open pit operations,' the ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

The mine will create around 500 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs and has 41.8 million tons of proven mineral reserves with gold and silver content in the following proportions: 2.6 grams of gold and 72.6 grams of silver per ton of material extracted, meaning probable gold and silver reserves of 4 million ounces and 104 million ounces, respectively, for the project's lifespan.

Agnico-Eagle Mines, which in addition to its mine in Mexico has three others in Canada and one in Finland, specialises in the extraction and production of gold, silver, copper, zinc and lead.

Gold production in Mexico increased by 127.5 percent between 2003 and 2008 and rose 1,352 percent in Chihuahua during that same period, the statement said.

The Economy Secretariat noted that the Toronto-based company has a social and community development department in Mexico and 80 percent of its local labour force is made up of workers from communities located near Pinos Altos.

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