Using Silver directly from Mexican mines

My neighbor, who has relatives in the silver mining region of Mexico,
was asking if we could make jewelry from silver they could send to
him. My experience has always been with getting metals from the big
refining houses and suppliers. I would assume that all the mining and
distribution is controlled by large corporations, and that there are
some kind of rules about who can transport metals across national
borders. Does anyone have any experience with getting metals directly
from the mines?

Thank you in advance for your reponses.
Charlie

If the silver is directly from the mines, is it fully refined,
processed into an alloy, or more in the lines of a raw product
needing further processing? If it is fully refined (.999), then
you’ll need to alloy it with copper unless you’re doing work with
fine silver. If it’s a raw product needing more processing, then can
you do it, or do you have someone who can? Are you selling a
product? If so, will you know the true silver content so that you can
mark it with the proper silver content?

Mike DeBurgh, GJG
Henderson, NV