(Alliance News) - Fresnillo PLC on Wednesday reaffirmed its annual outlook after substantial improvements in its silver production during the second quarter.
The FTSE 100-listed precious metals miner confirmed it was on track to meet its 2021 guidance of between 675,000 and 725,000 ounces of gold and between 53.5 million to 59.5 million ounces of silver.
Chief Executive Octavio Alvidrez praised a "solid operational performance" for the three months ended June 30, with quarterly silver production up on the first quarter, driven mainly by a sharp improvement in ore grades at San Julian.
Total silver output rose 9.6% annually and 18% from the preceding quarter to 14.9 million ounces. Gold production rose 8.6% year-on-year to 200,200 ounces but fell 12% from the first quarter.
At Fresnillo's joint-owned Juanicipio mine, construction is on track for commissioning by the end of the year. The miner noted it continued to see a "consistent contribution of development ore" from the Juanicipio project.
Fresnillo shares were trading up 5.5% at 795.51 pence each in London on Wednesday morning, one of the best performing large-cap stocks.
"We remain on track to meet our full year targets and our production guidance for 2021 is unchanged, though we remain vigilant around the continued evolution of the pandemic and its potential future effect on our operations, in particular the implementation of any future new work restrictions," commented Alvidrez.
Fresnillo will announce its interim results on August 3.
By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com
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Fresnillo (FRES)