Industrias Peñoles reported a 2.5pc and 1.8pc increase in its lead and copper production in 2020.
The Mexican miner and metals producer noted in its 2020 and Q4 2020 earnings report on Mar 2 that lead production increased to 86,420mt last year from 84,332mt in 2019. In Q4 2020, lead production rose by 10.1pc to 23,824mt from 21,637mt during the same prior-year quarter.
However, refined lead production decreased by 6.2pc to 111,538mt in 2020 from 118,889 in 2019 and fell by 9.4pc to 29,573mt in Q4 2020 from 32,630mt in the same prior-year quarter. Lower volumes produced at the smelter, that led to reduced bullion production and treatment at the company’s PlomoPlata Refinery were cited as the reasons behind the production declines.
Peñoles’ copper production in 2020 increased to 8,969mt from 8,806mt in the prior year and rose by 25.6pc to 2,652mt in Q4 2020 from 2,112mt in the same quarter of 2019.
However, copper cathode output declined by 44.7pc in 2020 to 12,444mt from 22,488mt in the previous year. In Q4 2020, cathode production plummeted by 68pc to 1,688mt from 5,276mt in the same quarter of the previous year. The company attributed the decline to stoppages at its Milpillas mine where operations were suspended in H1 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zinc production also declined by 1.4pc to 288,072mt last year from 292,291mt in 2019, and fell by 2.1pc to 74,135mt in Q4 2020 from 75,713mt in Q4 2019, Peñoles reported. The miner attributed the decline to production shutdowns at its Madero and Bismark mines in H1 2020. However, the declines from these mines were offset by better volumes and recoveries from the company’s Capela and Saucito mines.
Refined zinc output also declined in 2020, down 8pc to 260,943mt from 283,611mt in the previous year. In Q4 2020, refined zinc production declined by 3.7pc to 72,841mt from 75,628mt in Q4 2019 because of operational issues in the leaching process at its zinc plant.
In 2020, the Mexican miner reported consolidated sales of $4.7bn up 5.2pc from $4.4bn in 2019. Sales in Q4 2020 increased by 32pc to $1.4bn from $1.1bn in the same prior-year quarter.
The company’s gross profit rose 43.4pc to $1.24bn in 2020 from $870mn in the previous year while its EBITDA increased by 50.4pc to $1.45bn from $968mn during the same period. In Q4 2020, Peñoles’ gross profit soared by 111pc to $468mn from $221mn in the same prior-year quarter, while its EBITDA during the same period increased by 110.3pc to $507mn from $241.2mn.