Fresnillo profits dive as gold production falls
Fresnillo shares are down nine per cent in wake of the company's full year financial results.
Mexico-focused miner Fresnillo has reported a collapse in profit before tax of 64 per cent to $418m for the year ended 31 December 2013.
Attributable gold production suffered a fall of 10 per cent to 425,831 ounces, largely due to disrupted operations at the Herradura District in Costa Rico.
However, silver production rose 4.3 per cent thanks to increased production at Cienega. The company managed to hike production at Noche Buena, despite being temporarily affected by the suspension of explosives permits in 2013.
Octavio Alvidrez,CEO of Fresnillo, commented:
Fresnillo continued to deliver on its strategic priorities in 2013, despite a challenging external environment for the mining industry and disrupted operations at Minera Penmont.
We achieved silver production that was ahead of our targets and made significant progress on a number of our development projects, with the dynamic leaching plant at Herradura being concluded and construction continuing at Saucito II and San Julian.
(Google)