Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES) said on Wednesday that it reached record gold production levels and remains confident that it will meet its full year gold and silver production targets for 2012.
The world’s largest primary silver producer and Mexico’s second largest gold producer, generated 127,003 ounces of gold in the second quarter, up 15% from last year and a 4% increase on the previous quarter.
The Latin America-focused miner said attributable silver output, including silver from its Silverstream contract, decreased 9.6% on year to 10.3 million troy ounces in the second quarter as anticipated lower grades at Fresnillo were partially offset by higher output from its Saucito mine. Silver production during the first half of the year was down 6.5% at 20.1 million ounces.
“We will continue focusing our efforts towards stabilizing production at our Fresnillo mine, delivering growth through new operations and discovering new deposits of precious metals,”,” said CEO Jaime Lomelin in a statement.
The FTSE-100 listed miner aims to reach its full-year silver output target through the continued bolstering up of its Saucito mine, higher output from Cienega mine and steady output from the Fresnillo mine in the second half of the year, said Arturo Espinola, Fresnillo’s head of investor relations.
Fresnillo’s shares went up over 2% in today’s trading, closing at $1.44.
