MEXICO CITY, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Mexican authorities said

on Friday that at least one body matching the characteristics of

one of 10 mine workers who were kidnapped from a mine in

northern Sinaloa state late last month was found in a

clandestine grave.

Mexico's ‌Attorney General's Office said steps were being

taken to confirm the victim's identity and collect evidence from

the ​grave in Concordia, where remains of several other bodies

were found some 45 ‍km (28 miles) east of the Pacific coast city

of ⁠Mazatlan. Police were yet ⁠to formally identify any of the

bodies.

Family members interviewed by Reuters said some of the

workers at ‌Canada's Vizsla Silver Corp ( VZLA ) mine who ​went missing had

received threats from organized crime groups in the area

including the Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa cartel led ⁠by

the sons of ex-Mexican drug lord ‍Joaquin "El Chapo" ​Guzman.

Security Minister Omar Garcia confirmed last month that the

area where the miners went missing is under the control of the

Chapitos. The silver ‍mine has been closed since the kidnapping.

Authorities have yet to establish a reason as to why the

group was kidnapped on January 23.

Jaime Lopez, the uncle of Pablo Osorio, a 26-year-old

engineer and one of the men who went missing, said as the family

was poor they would not be ​able ‍to afford a ransom.

"We are devastated," he said, adding he had not wanted his

nephew to go to Concordia as it was ​dangerous, but it was the

only place that had responded to his job applications when he

finished his degree three years ago. "We are going to do

everything in our power to find him."

"We can't believe it," he said in tears after hearing of the

mass grave. Lopez said he was awaiting news from the authorities

to find out whether ​his nephew was among the remains found at

the site.

Mexico's government sent over 1,000 troops, including

soldiers and elite marines, to the area this weekend to locate

the missing miners. On Thursday, ‍four suspects were arrested

over the case.