Santacruz Silver Produces 3,424,817 Silver Equivalent Ounces in Q3 2025, Comprising of 1,241,929 Ounces of Silver, 21,581 Tonnes of Zinc, 2,603 Tonnes of Lead, and 331 Tonnes of Copper

Original announcement by tmx on

Company
Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd.
Ticker
SCZ
Exchange
TSX
Region
Unavailable
Primary commodity
Silver
Secondary commodities
Zinc, Lead, Copper
Document categories
Metallurgy, Production
Extracted
2026-09-14 23:07:14 UTC

Analysis by Minestarters Atlas

Minestarters Atlas analysis

Summary

Santacruz Silver reported Q3 2025 production of 3,424,817 silver equivalent ounces, a 3% decrease from Q2 2025 and a 15% decrease from Q3 2024. The Bolivar mine experienced significant production declines, particularly in silver, due to a water inflow event that restricted access to high-grade areas. While other operations like Caballo Blanco and San Lucas showed strong performance, the company anticipates production from Bolivar's high-grade zones to resume in February 2026 after ongoing dewatering efforts.

Reasoning: Santacruz Silver reported Q3 2025 production results, showing steady consolidated output but significant declines at the Bolivar mine due to a water inflow event, which impacted overall silver equivalent production. Other mines showed mixed performance, with some offsetting the Bolivar issues, and the company expects high-grade production at Bolivar to resume in February 2026.

Positive factors

  • Steady consolidated production
  • Strong operational performance from Caballo Blanco and San Lucas
  • Increased pumping capacity at Bolivar to address water inflow
  • Expected resumption of high-grade production at Bolivar in February 2026
  • Increased copper production at Zimapan

Negative factors

  • Significant decrease in silver production at Bolivar due to water inflow
  • Restricted access to high-grade areas at Bolivar
  • Delay in pumping system installation at Bolivar
  • Overall decrease in silver equivalent production compared to previous quarter and year-ago quarter
  • Decline in silver production at Porco due to focus on zinc-rich zones
  • Decline in silver equivalent production at San Lucas year-on-year

Low confidence — this extraction should be reviewed alongside the original source.

Facts used in scoring: 26

Extracted facts

Stored fact records: 16. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.

Metallurgical Results (16)

Fact 1Bolivar Mine · silverRecovery: 89 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Bolivar Mine
Commodity
silver
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
89 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Bolivar mine experienced severe declines in silver production and grade due to the water inflow event, significantly impacting overall company performance.

Negative factors

  • 57% decrease in silver production compared to Q2 2025
  • 73% decrease in silver production compared to Q3 2024
  • 53% decrease in average silver grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 62% decrease in average silver grade compared to Q3 2024
  • Ongoing impact of water inflow event restricting access to high-grade areas

Evidence · table

“132,146”

Context: 52,023

Fact 2Bolivar Mine · zincRecovery: 93 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Bolivar Mine
Commodity
zinc
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
93 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Bolivar mine's zinc production declined year-on-year, though average grade and recovery showed some stability or improvement quarter-on-quarter.

Positive factors

  • 1% increase in average zinc grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 3% increase in zinc recovery compared to Q2 2025
  • 3% increase in zinc recovery compared to Q3 2024

Negative factors

  • 1% decrease in zinc production compared to Q2 2025
  • 30% decrease in zinc production compared to Q3 2024
  • 8% decrease in average zinc grade compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“3,186”

Context: 52,023

Fact 3Bolivar Mine · leadRecovery: 64 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Bolivar Mine
Commodity
lead
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
64 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Bolivar mine's lead production, grade, and recovery all saw significant declines, indicating severe operational challenges for this commodity.

Negative factors

  • 43% decrease in lead production compared to Q2 2025
  • 66% decrease in lead production compared to Q3 2024
  • 29% decrease in average lead grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 49% decrease in average lead grade compared to Q3 2024
  • 15% decrease in lead recovery compared to Q2 2025
  • 10% decrease in lead recovery compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“104”

Context: 52,023

Fact 4Porco Mine · silverRecovery: 82 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Porco Mine
Commodity
silver
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
82 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Porco mine's silver production and grade declined significantly as operations prioritized zinc-rich zones, aligning with its production focus.

Negative factors

  • 13% decrease in silver production compared to Q2 2025
  • 47% decrease in silver production compared to Q3 2024
  • 10% decrease in average silver grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 47% decrease in average silver grade compared to Q3 2024
  • Operations continued to target zinc-rich zones

Evidence · table

“92,001”

Context: 49,161

Fact 5Porco Mine · zincRecovery: 93 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Porco Mine
Commodity
zinc
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
93 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Porco mine's zinc production and grade decreased both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, despite stable recoveries, indicating challenges in feed quality.

Positive factors

  • Stable zinc recoveries at 93%

Negative factors

  • 11% decrease in zinc production compared to Q2 2025
  • 5% decrease in zinc production compared to Q3 2024
  • 10% decrease in average zinc grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 5% decrease in average zinc grade compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“2,488”

Context: 49,161

Fact 6Porco Mine · leadRecovery: 69 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Porco Mine
Commodity
lead
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
69 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Porco mine's lead production and grade saw substantial declines, indicating a negative trend for this byproduct metal.

Positive factors

  • 6% increase in lead recovery compared to Q2 2025

Negative factors

  • 22% decrease in lead production compared to Q2 2025
  • 50% decrease in lead production compared to Q3 2024
  • 27% decrease in average lead grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 45% decrease in average lead grade compared to Q3 2024
  • 11% decrease in lead recovery compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“103”

Context: 49,161

Fact 7Caballo Blanco Group · silverRecovery: 92 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Caballo Blanco Group
Commodity
silver
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
92 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Caballo Blanco Group showed strong year-on-year growth in silver production, grade, and recovery, indicating operational improvements, despite slight quarter-on-quarter dips in grade and recovery.

Positive factors

  • 18% increase in silver production compared to Q3 2024
  • 8% increase in average silver grade compared to Q3 2024
  • 3% increase in silver recovery compared to Q3 2024

Negative factors

  • 5% decrease in average silver grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 2% decrease in silver recovery compared to Q2 2025

Evidence · table

“294,524”

Context: 62,221

Tags used in scoring

High Recoverypositive

Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.

Why it applies: 92% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)

Fact 8Caballo Blanco Group · zincRecovery: 93 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Caballo Blanco Group
Commodity
zinc
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
93 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Caballo Blanco Group's zinc production increased quarter-on-quarter and remained stable year-on-year, despite slight declines in average grade.

Positive factors

  • 4% increase in zinc production compared to Q2 2025
  • Stable zinc production compared to Q3 2024

Negative factors

  • 2% decrease in average zinc grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 6% decrease in average zinc grade compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“4,131”

Context: 62,221

Fact 9Caballo Blanco Group · leadRecovery: 80 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Caballo Blanco Group
Commodity
lead
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
80 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Caballo Blanco Group showed strong growth in lead production and grade both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, indicating positive performance for this commodity.

Positive factors

  • 21% increase in lead production compared to Q2 2025
  • 40% increase in lead production compared to Q3 2024
  • 18% increase in average lead grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 25% increase in average lead grade compared to Q3 2024
  • 5% increase in lead recovery compared to Q3 2024

Negative factors

  • 4% decrease in lead recovery compared to Q2 2025

Evidence · table

“722”

Context: 62,221

Fact 10San Lucas Group · silverRecovery: 80 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
San Lucas Group
Commodity
silver
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
80 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: San Lucas Group showed quarter-on-quarter growth in silver production and grade, but year-on-year declines and reduced recoveries, indicating mixed performance.

Positive factors

  • 2% increase in silver output compared to Q2 2025
  • 2% increase in average silver grade compared to Q2 2025

Negative factors

  • 8% decrease in silver output compared to Q3 2024
  • 6% decrease in average silver grade compared to Q3 2024
  • 6% decrease in silver recovery compared to Q2 2025
  • 6% decrease in silver recovery compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“326,873”

Context: 100,550

Fact 11San Lucas Group · zincRecovery: 89 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
San Lucas Group
Commodity
zinc
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
89 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: San Lucas Group's zinc production and grade increased quarter-on-quarter but declined year-on-year, with slight decreases in recovery.

Positive factors

  • 6% increase in zinc production compared to Q2 2025
  • 1% increase in average zinc grade compared to Q2 2025

Negative factors

  • 7% decrease in zinc production compared to Q3 2024
  • 9% decrease in average zinc grade compared to Q3 2024
  • 1% decrease in zinc recovery compared to Q2 2025
  • 2% decrease in zinc recovery compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“7,032”

Context: 100,550

Fact 12San Lucas Group · leadRecovery: 63 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
San Lucas Group
Commodity
lead
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
63 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: San Lucas Group showed strong growth in lead production both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, with stable grade and improved recovery quarter-on-quarter.

Positive factors

  • 13% increase in lead production compared to Q2 2025
  • 17% increase in lead production compared to Q3 2024
  • 13% increase in average lead grade compared to Q3 2024
  • 7% increase in lead recovery compared to Q2 2025

Evidence · table

“575”

Context: 100,550

Fact 13Zimapan Mine · silverRecovery: 72 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Zimapan Mine
Commodity
silver
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
72 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Zimapan mine's silver production, grade, and recovery declined year-on-year, indicating challenges for this commodity despite stable quarter-on-quarter performance.

Positive factors

  • 1% increase in silver recovery compared to Q2 2025

Negative factors

  • 11% decrease in silver production compared to Q3 2024
  • 6% decrease in average silver grade compared to Q3 2024
  • 7% decrease in silver recovery compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“396,385”

Context: 222,629

Tags used in scoring

Low Recoverynegative

Recovery below the weak band for the commodity and processing route.

Why it applies: 72% is below the weak band (75%)

Fact 14Zimapan Mine · zincRecovery: 73 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Zimapan Mine
Commodity
zinc
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
73 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Zimapan mine showed strong growth in zinc production and grade both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, driven by higher grades, despite a slight dip in recovery.

Positive factors

  • 5% increase in zinc production compared to Q2 2025
  • 10% increase in zinc production compared to Q3 2024
  • 11% increase in average zinc grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 12% increase in average zinc grade compared to Q3 2024
  • Production gains driven by higher grades

Negative factors

  • 5% decrease in zinc recovery compared to Q2 2025
  • 5% decrease in zinc recovery compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“4,744”

Context: 222,629

Fact 15Zimapan Mine · leadRecovery: 74 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Zimapan Mine
Commodity
lead
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
74 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Zimapan mine's lead production, grade, and recovery all saw significant declines, indicating a negative trend for this commodity.

Negative factors

  • 19% decrease in lead production compared to Q2 2025
  • 27% decrease in lead production compared to Q3 2024
  • 17% decrease in average lead grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 13% decrease in average lead grade compared to Q3 2024
  • 2% decrease in lead recovery compared to Q2 2025
  • 18% decrease in lead recovery compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“1,099”

Context: 222,629

Fact 16Zimapan Mine · copperRecovery: 52 %View all details
Link to this fact

Identity

Project
Zimapan Mine
Commodity
copper
Ticker
SCZ

Recovery

Recovery
52 %

Review

Needs Review
No
Historical
No

Dates

Event date
2025-11-03T00:00:00.000Z

Reasoning: Zimapan mine showed strong growth in copper production, grade, and recovery both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, indicating excellent performance for this commodity.

Positive factors

  • 45% increase in copper production compared to Q2 2025
  • 23% increase in copper production compared to Q3 2024
  • 27% increase in average copper grade compared to Q2 2025
  • 15% increase in copper recovery compared to Q2 2025
  • 22% increase in copper recovery compared to Q3 2024

Evidence · table

“331”

Context: 222,629

Tags used in scoring

Low Recoverynegative

Recovery below the weak band for the commodity and processing route.

Why it applies: 52% is below the weak band (80%)

How Atlas produces this analysis

Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.