Fresnillo production soars in 2010

14th Jan 2011 07:12

Mexico-based silver and gold miner Fresnillo produced record amounts of both metals last year with output expected to increase again over the coming twelve months.The last three months of 2010 saw silver production rise 3.6% to 10.5m oz, making a total for the year of 42.1m oz, up 2% year on year.Gold production also hit a record in the last quarter at 100,822 oz, a 26% increase over the corresponding period last year as Soledad-Dipolos output exceeded expectations. Annual attributable gold production was 368,995 oz, up 33% year on year, again a record.Going forward, Fresnillo expects silver production this year to increase by 5% to 44m oz and attributable gold productionto increase by 8% to 400,000 oz as Soledad-Dipolos and Ciénega expand production throughout 2011. Construction of Noche Buena will commence for expected production in 2012, while the exploration budget will rise 150% to $251m."Our newest gold mine, Soledad-Dipolos, was an important factor in this excellent performance, as well as efficiency measures at our mines and the implementation of the six sigma management tool improvements. We are on track for the next phase of growth with the start up of Saucito, the expansion at Ciénega and Soledad-Dipolos and the commencement of construction at Noche Buena," chief executive Jaime Lomelín said.Fresnillo added that its suffered a fatal acident at the Fresnillo mine in November when a scoop-tram operator fell into an ore pass while mucking. An investigation found that a failure to comply with the established safety procedures caused the accident.