Mining investment in Mexico could grow 42pc in 2021, up to $5bn from $3.53bn last year, as the government may prioritize the sector, according to Fernando Alanís, president, Camimex.
Meanwhile, the National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Informatics (INEGI) reported that lead production increased 11.5pc in the first half of 2021, to 88,692mt from 79,543mt produced in H1 2020.
In June, lead production grew 2.9pc to 15,427mt from 14,985mt in the same month last year.
Zinc grew 5.6pc in H1 2021, to 190,327mt from 180,150mt in the first six months of 2020. The monthly report for June of this year indicates a 3.3pc jump in production, to 33,101mt from 32,049mt during the same year-ago period.
As for iron pellets, their production declined this year, falling 3.2pc between January and June, to 2.93mn mt from 3.03mn mt in the same period a year ago. In June the reduction was 1.1pc, to 487,357mt from 492,953mt in the same month last year.
Copper suffered the biggest fall in the first six months of the year, decreasing by 4.9pc, to 235,459mt from 247,503mt in H1 2020. In the monthly comparison, the decline was 5.4pc, to 38,478mt from 40,687mt in June 2020.
Last year, Camimex reports, mining production fell 1.3pc in volume terms, but the increase in metal prices raised the value of this production by almost 25pc, to reach $13bn.