A pair of armored trucks transporting ingots of a gold/silver alloy were attacked and robbed by a commando of armed men in Caborca, Sonora, on Monday.

The precious metals for the ingots, called doré bars, had been extracted from the La Herradura mine, operated by the Canadian mining company Penmont.

The SEPSA security company trucks were intercepted by a convoy of at least 10 vehicles around 2:00 p.m. on Monday. The assailants blocked the highway with a truck to force the armored cars to stop.

The six SEPSA employees were assaulted by the thieves. One sustained minor wounds requiring hospitalization, while the others were treated by paramedics and released at the scene.

Penmont did not release the market value of the doré bars that were stolen.

It was not the first instance of highway robbery of precious metals mined by Penmont in the area. Thieves stole 47 doré bars in November of last year from another Penmont-owned mine.

The estimated 722 kilograms of doré stolen in November were from the Noche Buena mine, not far from La Herradura, and valued at around US $8 million according to the exchange rate and gold price at that time.

The open-pit La Herradura mine is in the Sonoran Desert about 20 kilometers east of the popular Gulf of California tourist destination Puerto Peñasco, Sonora.

Source: Milenio (sp)