Mexico’s copper production tumbled almost 45% in January-May compared with the same five month of 2023, according to a monthly report from statistics agency Inegi.
Of the mineral and metals produced in Mexico, only gold and fluorite showed growth in the period, with year-on-year increases of 3.1% and 0.5%, respectively. However, sulfur production was down 14.9%, iron pellets -11.3%, lead -10.3%, silver -3.1%, zinc -2.5%, gypsum -1.9% and non-coking coal -0.8%, the report showed.
In May alone, production of copper dipped 12.5% year-on-year to 37,501t from 42,835t in the same month of last year.
Meanwhile, output of gold, which has seen high prices so far this year, reached a volume of 5,463kg (175,077oz) in May, down 3% year-on-year.
Silver production fell 1.5% to 344,500kg (11,075,827oz) from 349,726kg in May last year, according to Inegi.
Zinc output was up in May, climbing 43.3% year-on-year to 41,292t.
During the month, Mexico’s mining and metallurgical production shrank 2.5% year-on-year in non-seasonally adjusted terms, while between January and May it was down 13.8%, according to Inegi.
Last year, the production volume of the industry contracted almost 5%, mainly due to the stoppage of operations for more than four months at Newmont‘s Peñasquito gold and silver mine, and the prolonged crisis at steel company Ahmsa.
The lack of regulations for four laws that apply to the sector, amended in May 2023, has kept various mining processes stopped, especially those linked to exploration, which in turn affects the demand for related services, according to companies in the sector.