Fresnillo warns of 'more challenging' 2019

21st May 2019 By: Reuters

Fresnillo said on Tuesday the current year would be more challenging than 2018 as a number of industry variables were "working against" the precious metals miner.

The company, which posted a 15% drop in first-quarter silver production last month, said it was "disappointed" not to meet its long-term silver output target and that it was taking action to address this "in a number of ways".

Fresnillo, which mines gold and silver in Mexico, said silver output dropped last month mainly due to lower grades of ore and lower ore throughput.

"Nevertheless, internal conditions in the long-term remain sound. We maintain our confidence in Mexico and will keep investing in the projects under exploration," chairman Alberto Baillères said at its annual general meeting.

Shares in Fresnillo opened 1.5% lower and was at the bottom of the FTSE blue-chip index.