Three of 10 kidnapped miners found dead in Mexico, mining chamber says

MEXICO CITY, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Three of 10 mine workers kidnapped last month from a mine run by Canada’s Vizsla Silver Corp in Mexico’s northern state of Sinaloa have been found dead, the country’s mining chamber said on Monday.

Ignacio Aurelio Salazar, Jose Angel Hernandez and Jose Manuel Castaneda were confirmed dead by local authorities, Mexican mining chamber Camimex said in a statement. Camimex called for an investigation to find who was responsible.

“We ask that the absolute priority remains locating our coworkers who are still missing alive so they can return home with their families, where they belong,” Camimex added.

The group was kidnapped at the end of January from a silver mine in an area security authorities say is under the control of the Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa cartel led by the sons of ex-Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Vancouver-based Vizsla Silver said it was focused on the safe recovery of those still missing and supporting the affected families.

“We are devastated by this outcome and the tragic loss of life,” CEO Michael Konnert said.

Vizsla Silver said it will provide further updates as it receives confirmations from Mexican authorities. Its Panuco mine has been closed since the kidnapping and company shares were down nearly 6% in Monday trading.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mexican authorities said on Friday that at least one body found in a clandestine grave in Concordia – some 45 km (28 miles) east of the Pacific coast city of Mazatlan – matched the description of one of the missing miners.

Mexico’s government sent over 1,000 troops, including elite marines, to the area over the weekend to try to locate the missing miners. Four suspects were arrested on Thursday over the case.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a press conference on Monday that the federal government was in close contact with the workers’ families and the mining company.

“We are looking into everything that could have caused this situation,” she said. “We hope a situation like this will never happen again.”     

Relatives from the families of four of the kidnapped miners told Reuters they had not been asked for a ransom, but said workers had told them the area was dangerous due to local crime groups.

(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru, Raul Cortes, Sarah Morland and Lizabeth Diaz in Mexico City; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Natalia Siniawski and Mark Porter)