Mexico's April Mining Production Up 14% On-Year On Silver -Inegi

MEXICO CITY, Jun 30, 2010 (Dow Jones Commodities News Select via Comtex) -- Mexico's mining production rose 14% in April compared with the same month a year ago, on increases in silver, gold, lead and zinc and a small dip in copper output, the National Statistics Institute, or Inegi, said Wednesday.

Mining production in April was 2% higher compared with March in seasonally adjusted terms, the institute said.

In April, silver production rose 46% to 262,916 kilograms compared to last year's 180,644 kilograms, the institute said. Gold output rose 29% to 4,951 kilograms from 3,838 kilograms. Lead production nearly doubled to 10,376 metric tons from 5,228 metric tons in April of 2009.

A two-month strike last year at the metals refinery of mining Industrias Penoles (PE&OLES.MX) had a big effect on the country's output of silver, gold and lead.

Copper production was off by 6% in April to 18,230 metric tons from 19,361 metric tons in the year-ago month, and zinc output edged up 3% to 32,837 metric tons from 31,918 metric tons a year ago, Inegi said.

Coal output was 24% higher to 815,092 metric tons from 657,433 metric tons and iron production rose 16% to 692,238 metric tons from 595,364.

Copper miner Grupo Mexico (GMEXICO.MX) recovered Mexico's largest copper mine at Cananea this month from workers who had seized it for three years, but production is not expected to resume there until late in the year.