FRESNILLO  , a

town of the state of Zacatecas, Mexico, 37 M . N.W. of the city of Zacatecas on a branch of the Santiago river . Pop . (1900) 6309 . It stands on a fertile plain between the Santa Cruz and Zacatecas ranges, about 7700 ft. above sea-level, has a temperate climate, and is surrounded by an agricultural district producing Indian corn and wheat . It is a clean, well- built town, whose chief distinction is its school of mines founded in 1853 . Fresnillo has large amalgam works for the reduction of silver ores . Its silver mines, located in the neighbouring Proano hill, were discovered in 1569, and were for a time among the most productive in Mexico . Since 1833, when their richest deposits were reached, the output has greatly decreased . There is a station near on the Mexican Central railway .