Robbery of a tonne of gold ore from Mexico mine was 'inside job'

A robbery of almost a tonne of concentrated gold ore from a mine refinery in Mexico's western Sinaloa state was likely an inside job, authorities said.

Sinaloa's interior minister Gerard Vargas Landeros said on Wednesday that the US$8.5 million theft at the facility of Canada-based McEwen Mining had to have been pulled off by either employees or ex-employees.

"It was premeditated, well planned and organised," Vargas said. "It had to have been done by someone who knows the inside movements."

A statement from McEwen said the theft occurred on Tuesday at the El Gallo 1 mine and involved 900kg of gold-bearing concentrate containing approximately 7,000 ounces of gold.

The Canadian mining firm said the robbers were armed, but no one was injured. It gave no more details. Authorities said on Wednesday that the robbery was an isolated incident and would not affect operations or international investors.

"We're generating a strategy to guarantee the safety of employers in the industry," said retired general Moises Melo Garcia, state director of security.