Peru gold production hits 13-month low

Peru produced 7.80Mg of gold (about 251,000oz) in February, down 15.7% compared to 9.26Mg in the same month 2024, according to the mines and energy ministry (Minem). In January and February, gold production fell 15.8% year-on-year to 16.1Mg.

The February figure is the lowest since January 2024. Since then, production has not fallen below 8Mg and averaged 9Mg a month last year.

Zinc production fell 2.1% in February, lead declined by 3.4% and iron ore 5.2%.

Companies

Except for Minera Yanacocha, the main gold mining companies saw double-digit declines in the month. According to the Minem report, Yanacocha's production grew 9.8% in February to 1.05Mg compared to the same period last year but was down 7.8% in the first two months to 2.05Mg.

The ministry said the sharp drop in February is explained by Minera Poderosa and Boroo Misquichilca. In the case of the former, monthly production fell 12.7% to 693,186g and 4.7% in the two months to 1.4Mg. Boroo Misquichilca's production fell 38.4% from 701,274g in February 2024 to 432,103g this February.

Consorcio Minero Horizonte's production, meanwhile, fell 11.9% in February to 429,407g and was down 11.3% to 911,529g in the two months.

Source: https://www.bnamericas.com/