Fresnillo share price rises depsite silver production lagging
Fresnillo’s silver production is dropping, as a production report for the third quarter showed the ore volume at its biggest silver mine lagging.
Production at the FTSE-listed miner’s Fresnillo mine in Mexico dropped by 24 per cent, weighing on the company’s total silver production, which was down by 1.3 per cent over the quarter.
The miner’s chief executive Octavio Alvídrez said that the company expects to see production levels back up in the next quarter:
We have begun to see the results of the measures we have taken to solve the development delays at Fresnillo, with an improvement in both ore grade and production levels from the previous quarter at the mine.
We have also made good progress in moving towards steady state at Herradura, and our San Julián project remains on track for stage one commissioning in the first half of next year.
Fresnillo’s lead production is up 54 per cent in the year to date, against the same period last year. Gold production has risen by 29 per cent during this time, and zinc by 45 per cent.
Silver, despite falling over the third quarter, is up by 6.6 per cent year to date, putting the company “on track” for meeting its production targets of 45-47m ounces of silver and 715-730,000 ounces of gold.
The overall production growth had Fresnillo shares up by 1.7 per cent in mid-morning trading.