Fresnillo backs outlook as silver and gold output decline as expected

Fresnillo PLC on Wednesday said gold and silver output was in line with its expectations in the third quarter, albeit lower on a year before, and it is on track to meet guidance.

The London-listed precious metals miner in Mexico said quarterly attributable silver output was 10.3 million ounces, down 12% on-year and 5.5% on-quarter.

The fall was mainly due to the lower ore grade at the Juanicipio and San Julian Veins mines and a decrease in the volume of ore processed and lower ore grade at Cienega, Fresnillo said.

Juanicipio, San Julian Veins and Cienega all are mines located in Mexico.

Year-to-date silver production is 32.4 million ounces, down 12% from the same period a year ago.

Gold production was down 11% on-year to 135,053 ounces, sliding 13% on-quarter, mainly driven by the decreased volume of ore processed, and lower ore grade at Herradura. This takes year-to-date gold production to 425,900 ounces down 8.4% on-year. Herradura is a gold mine located in Mexico.

Quarterly attributable by-product lead and zinc production decreased 5.9% and 10% on-year respectively.

Year-to-date by-product lead production increased 8.1% on-year, due to the higher ore grade at Fresnillo and Juanicipio, partly offset by the lower ore grade at Saucito. Year-to-date by-product zinc production was up 0.4% on-year.

Saucito is an underground silver and gold mine operated by Fresnillo in Mexico.

"Our core assets continue to deliver reliably, highlighted by strong gold performance at Fresnillo, while lower production volumes overall reflect lower ore grades at Juanicipio, Saucito, and San Julian, along with reduced volume of ore processed at Herradura and Cienega," said Chief Executive Octavio Alvidrez.

Looking ahead, Fresnillo kept it production guidance for 2026 unchanged. It still expects attributable silver production between 42.0 million and 46.5 million ounces, with gold production between 500,000 and 550,000 ounces. It sees lead production between 54,000 to 59,000 tonnes and zinc production of 85,000 to 95,000 tonnes.

This all will be down the year before. In 2025, silver production totalled 48.7 million ounces, gold production reached 600,287 ounces, lead production was 62,076 tonnes and zinc production was 105,915 tonnes.

Shares in Fresnillo were down 2.0% at 2,635.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

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