Fortuna Silver Mines


Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. is a Canadian public silver mining company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It has two operating mines, one in Peru and one in Mexico, and a mine under construction in Argentina. It is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with a C$893 million market capitalization as November 2017.

History

Fortuna was founded in 2004 by Jorge Ganoza and Simon Ridgway. Ganoza is from a Peruvian mining family. Fortuna acquired its Caylloma property in 2004, and started production in 2006. Also in 2006, it acquired the land necessary for its San José del Progreso mine in Mexico. Construction on the mine began in 2010, with production starting in 2011.
In 2016, Fortuna acquired Goldrock Mines for C$129 million, for that company's Lindero silver project in Argentina. In November 2017, the company announced it would move forward with construction at its Lindero project.

Operations

Fortuna has two operating mines:
Fortuna also has a gold mine under construction at its Lindero project in Salta, Argentina.

Controversy

Fortuna was involved in an ongoing dispute with opponents of its San Jose mine. In 2009, there was a two-month long blockade at the company's San Jose mine, with protesters worried about industrial contamination. The blockade lasted from March to May, and was eventually broken up by state police, leading to 19 arrests. In January 2012, opposition increased, due to concerns that the mine was improperly accessing the local water supply. In March 2012, Bernardo Vasquez, the leader of an opposition group to the mine, was shot and killed. One other anti-mine activist was killed in the same year, with three others injured by gunfire. The company denies responsibility for the violence, saying that it was the result of pre-existing social divisions.