Mexico Silver Output Up in May Reuters
go to original July 31, 2012

Mexican silver output jumped 18.6 percent in May from a year earlier to 420,629 kg, the National Statistics Institute said on Tuesday, as strong prices continued to spur production.

Mexican copper output rose by 4.2 percent to 35,911 tonnes in May as production increased at the massive Buenavista mine - formerly known as Cananea - following a three-year strike that ended in 2010, the institute said.

Fresnillo, Mexico and the world's largest primary silver producer, expects to meet its 2012 silver targets thanks to a ramp-up of production at its new Saucito mine.

The precious metals miner reported a 9 percent decline in first-half profit on Tuesday.

Fresnillo has seen a decline in silver production over the previous year, suggesting that other Mexican mining companies were amping up their own production, said RBC analyst Evgenii Risovich.     "Most of the (silver) mines now operate profitably, so it makes sense that production is growing because there is money to be made," Risovich said.

Copper output will likely continue to increase over the next few months but only moderately, thanks to production running at full capacity at Grupo Mexico's Buenavista mine, said Julio Zetina of Vector Casa de Bolsa.

"The jumps will be slight, but toward 2013 we might see higher capacities at other mines," Zetina said.

Grupo Mexico said it hopes copper production at Buenavista will reach 488,000 tonnes by 2015.

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