Fresnillo Silver Output Falls on Lower Grades, Gold Advances
April 13, 2011, 2:48 AM EDTBy Amanda Jordan
(Updates with Silverstream in second paragraph.)
April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Fresnillo Plc, the world’s largest primary silver producer, said first-quarter output of the metal fell 4.3 percent as ore grades declined.
Fresnillo produced 9.08 million ounces of silver, compared with 9.49 million ounces a year earlier, the Mexico City-based company said in a statement today. That excludes 1.01 million ounces from the Silverstream agreement, an accord between Fresnillo and Mexico’s Industrias Penoles SAB.
The company reported “slightly” lower ore grades at its Fresnillo mine in Mexico. “We are currently taking measures to increase the volume of ore processed to compensate the lower ore grade,” it said.
Gold production rose 13 percent to a record 96,407 ounces in the quarter following a capacity expansion and improved recovery at the Soledad-Dipolos project, Fresnillo said.
--Editors: Alastair Reed, John Deane.
To contact the reporter on this story: Amanda Jordan in London at ajordan11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amanda Jordan at ajordan11@bloomberg.net
