Fresnillo silver production slips

13th Apr 2011 08:04

Precious metals prices have been soaring recently but Mexican miner Fresnillo's silver production slipped slightly in the quarter to 31 March.The company produced 10.1m ounces of silver during the three-month period, a decrease of 2.2% from the first quarter of 2010. The company's main silver producing mine suffered a slight decline in ore grades.However, expanded capacity at its Soledad-Dipolos mine helped lift gold production by 13.3% to 96,407 ounces.Gold prices have recently been hitting record highs near $1,500 an ounce, while silver hit a 31-year high just below $42 an ounce, with concerns such as the turmoil in the Arab world and the Japan earthquake prompting safe haven buying.Fresnillo's chief executive Jaime Lomelin said the company is on track to produce 44m ounces of silver over 2011.RG