Mexico’s February mining output showed big gains in gold, silver and lead, with overall production 33% higher than in the year-ago month, the National Statistics Institute said Friday.
Gold production rose to 4,591 kilograms in February, the institute, known as Inegi, said, from 1,444 kilograms a year earlier.
Silver output rose to 225,516 kilograms from 81,114 kilograms, and lead increased to 8,884 metric tons from 2,650 tons.
The big increases in silver, gold, and lead production reflected a 66-day strike last year by the National Mine and Metal Workers Union, which shut in production at the refinery in Torreon run by Industrias Penoles. Penoles is the parent company of London-listed Fresnillo PLC, which is the world’s largest primary silver producer.
Inegi said that February mining production was 2% higher compared with a month earlier.
Other year-on-year production gains in February included iron output, which rose to 604,978 tons from 454,895 tons, and zinc, which rose to 31,776 tons from 29,781 tons.
Copper production fell to 18,197 tons from 18,923 tons, and coal fell to 700, 458 tons from 885,024 tons.
By Laurence Iliff for Dow Jones Newswires. May 3, 2010.
SOURCE: Nasdaq: