Mexico’s mining industry will reduce its investment in exploration by 25pc to $399mn this year due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mining industry invested $536mn in exploration last year, Fernando Quiroga Alanis, president at the Mexican Mining Chamber (Camimex), said during a presentation of the Mexican mining annual report on August 25. The investment in the exploration of new projects has decreased by 40pc since 2014, he pointed out.
Mexico’s mining industry lost $4.8bn in revenue after mining companies suspended activities for about two months to protect their employees from the pandemic, Alanis said without disclosing actual volumes affected. Of this amount, $2bn corresponds to revenue from mining production and $2.8bn corresponds to revenues from mining exports.
2020 Production may decline
The Mexican mining industry’s production could fall by 17pc this year Camimex has indicated. In 2019, Mexico produced 496,120mt of copper, up by 4.8pc from 473,612mt in 2018. The country also produced 408,166mt of zinc in 2019, up by 7pc from 381,521mt in 2018, according to Camimex.
The country’s lead production reached 149,286mt in 2019, up by 13.3pc from 131,759mt produced in 2018, while iron ore production fell by 0.5pc to 7.05mn mt in 2019, from 7.08mn mt in 2018.