Peru’s gold, silver, copper output falls

Photo by the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines.

The Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines’ latest statistical report reveals that, in the 10th month of the year, the country’s gold output fell by 6.3% when compared to October of 2017. This, despite the fact that Minera Yanacocha, which is the main producer of the yellow metal, grew its output by 8.1%.

Copper production, on the other hand, fell by 3.8% in October when compared to the previous year, silver dropped by 9.1%, zinc by 7.9%, and lead by 8.4%.

On the positive side, the MEM reported that iron ore production grew by 66.8%, despite the fact that output was on the downside following a 17-day strike by Shougang Hierro Perú’s workers demanding higher pay.

Molybdenum was also up by 20.6% in October of 2018, mostly due to positive numbers registered by Compañía Minera Cerro Verde, Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO), and Antamina.

Finally, the ministry informed that tin output rose by 5.4% y-o-y in October thanks to increased production at Minsur’s San Rafael mine in the western department of Puno.