El Aguilar Mine: An Ordovician Sediment-Hosted Stratiform Lead-Zinc Deposit in the Central Andes

El Aguilar mine is located along the eastern slope of the north-south Aguilar range in the Humahuaca department of Jujuy province, Argentina, at approximately 23° 12′S latitude, 65°42′W longitude, at an elevation of 4450 m above sea level. El Aguilar is 1900 km from Buenos Aires by rail, and 900 km from La Paz, Bolivia. At present the mine is the leading Argentinian producer of nonferrous ores, generating 2000 to 2200 t/day of crude ore containing 5.5% Pb, 6.2% Zn, and 60 to 110 g/t Ag. The main parameters show 2 volume of 30 × 106 t ore (production + reserves), and an average combined grade of 18% (Pb + Zn+Cu). This deposit represents the largest Paleozoic lead-zinc mineral concentration in South America.