Mexico's mining and metallurgical production down 4.9% in 2023

Mexico’s mining and metallurgical production fell 4.9% in 2023, according to statistics office Inegi, which monitors 11 mining products.

Coke production dropped 28.9%, followed by sulfur at 11.6%, zinc at 10.2%, lead at 9.5%, iron pellets at 6.9%, gold at 6.8%, silver at 5.0%, copper at 2.4% and fluorite at 1.2%, according to Inegi.

Only output of gypsum and non-coking coal did not fall, although production of each grew just 0.1%, Inegi said in a report.

In December, the country’s mining and metallurgical production declined 6% year-on-year, according to the agency. The index includes extraction, processing, smelting and refining of metallic and non-metallic minerals.

Mexico produced 6,865kg (221,000oz) of gold in December, down 3.2%, 318,525kg of silver, or 2.2% less than the same month in 2022, and 38,052t of copper, a decline of 10.9%.

In mid-February, Inegi reported that metallic and non-metallic mining activity dipped 2% in 2023, after suffering its worst monthly drop for the year in December of 4.9%.

Production last year was hit by a more than four-month strike at Newmont's Peñasquito gold-silver mine – the country’s largest producer of the precious metals – and the crisis at steelmaker Ahmsa.

The sector was also impacted during 2023 by the government’s policy of freezing new concessions as well as by uncertainty generated by last May’s mining reforms.

New constitutional and legislative reforms presented this January to ban open pit mining and prioritize domestic water consumption are expected to pose new obstacles for mining if approved, according to industry sources.

In 2022, mining of metallic and non-metallic minerals fell 0.6%, according to Inegi.