Fresnillo Set to Reach 2013 Silver Production Target

Fresnillo plc (LSE:FRES) released its production report for the three months ended September 30, 2013, commenting that year to date, its attributable silver production totals 32.1 million ounces, a 5.6-percent increase from the year-ago period. For the quarter, it produced 11.1 million ounces of the white metal, up 7.6 percent from the same period in 2012.

Other report highlights include:

• Year to date and quarterly attributable gold production decreased by 6.8% and 9.8% respectively compared with the same periods in 2012.
• Construction of the dynamic leaching plant at Herradura, is on track for start up in4Q13.
• Construction of the Saucito II project continued ahead of schedule and detailed engineering work for the construction of the San Julián project is progressing well.
• Promising exploration results were obtained at Fresnillo and Centauro Deep. Resources were increased at Noche Buena and San Ramón in the Herradura and Ciénega Districts respectively.
• On track to achieve full year guidance of 41Moz of silver. We continue to evaluate the impact on 2013 gold production guidance and will provide a further update following the lifting of the suspension of the explosives permit at Herradura, expected in the next week.

Octavio Alvídrez, CEO of Fresnillo, commented:

We remain on track to reach our full year silver production target following an excellent quarter of silver production, driven by robust performances at both Saucito and Ciénega.

While the legal proceedings around the “El Bajio” claims disrupted the volume of ore deposited at Soledad-Dipolos over the quarter, the successful continued ramp-up at the Noche Buena mine partially mitigated this and the production at Herradura was not impacted thanks to better recovery rates. As previously noted, we expect that the temporary suspension of the explosives permits at Herradura will be lifted over the coming week, at which point we will provide a further update regarding gold production guidance for 2013.

Click here to read the full Fresnillo plc (LSE:FRES) press release.