Buenavista (zinc): a zinc operation in Mexico
Buenavista (zinc) is an open pit mine producing zinc in Cananea mining district, Sonora, Mexico, operated by Southern Copper. The sources report 117.0 kt of zinc in concentrate for CY2025; the basis is whole Buenavista mine, as reported by Southern Copper. In zinc content, whole-operation output for CY2025 is 117,000 tonnes: about 0.9% of world zinc output in 2025 and about 15% of Mexico's; it is one of 22 operations on this site whose output can be stated in zinc content.
Who owns and operates it?
| Owner | Interest | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Copper | 99.998% | 31 December 2025 |
How much does it produce?
| Period | Output | Basis | Where in the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CY2025 | 117.0 kt of zinc in concentrate | whole Buenavista mine, as reported by Southern Copper | printed p.64, Buenavista production table, rows "Zinc concentrate (kt)" (248.5), "Zinc concentrate average grade (%)" (47.08), "Zinc in concentrate (kt)" (117.0), column 2025 · Southern Copper Corporation |
| CY2024 | 64.0 kt of zinc in concentrate | whole Buenavista mine, as reported by Southern Copper | printed p.64, same table, column 2024 · Southern Copper Corporation |
Between CY2024 and CY2025 the reported figure rose by 82.8%, in the same unit and on the same basis.
How the zinc-content figure is worked out. Southern Copper prints 117.0 kt of zinc in concentrate for Buenavista in 2025 in the mine's production table (248.5 kt of zinc concentrate at a 47.08% average grade). The table covers the Buenavista mine, so the figure covers the whole mine. World mine production of zinc in 2025 was 13,000,000 tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026); Mexico produced 780,000 tonnes.
Status: operating, as of 31 December 2025.
- Buenavista is also listed under copper (the copper entry for Buenavista del Cobre). The 10-K says the Buenavista zinc concentrator operated at full capacity in 2025 and produced 257.4 million pounds of zinc (MD&A, printed p.102).
- Southern Copper separately reports zinc in concentrate of 60.2 kt for its IMMSA unit (five underground mines, three operating); the 10-K gives this as a unit figure and it is not a single mine.
How does it compare?
Other zinc operations on this site: Red Dog, Antamina (zinc), Mount Isa (zinc), McArthur River (zinc), Rampura Agucha, Sindesar Khurd, Zawar mines, Rajpura Dariba, Kayad, Garpenberg, Tara, Neves-Corvo (Somincor). In Mexico: Peñasquito. See where zinc comes from for the country totals, the country page for Mexico, and Southern Copper for its other operations here.
The same site is also listed for another commodity: Buenavista del Cobre (copper).
Sources
- Southern Copper Corporation: Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (annual report (SEC 10-K), CY2025). Opened 4 November 2026; used: printed pp.3, 4, 64, 102; cover, 84.
- U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Zinc (government statistical summary, 2025 (world and country mine production)). Opened 3 November 2026; used: world and country mine production table.
Method and limits
- Reported, not estimated. Output is the figure the operator or owner published, in the unit it used. This site does not estimate output where none is published.
- Shares. A share divides output in zinc content by the USGS world or country total for 2025. Where the operator's year is a fiscal year or the unit is a concentrate or a carbonate equivalent, the share is approximate or not given.
- Whole operation or owner's share. The basis column says which. A joint venture's output is never counted twice.
- Partial list. Only operations with a published figure are listed, so the rank is among those on this site, not among every zinc mine. Shares of a country's output mix periods and bases, so treat them as indicative.
- Made with AI assistance, checked against sources. The facts were gathered from the documents above by AI-assisted research and re-checked against those documents by a second, independent pass; the page text is generated from the data. No professional review took place. How the site is made. To report an error, contact us; fixes are logged on the corrections page.