Fresnillo PLC, World's Largest Silver Producer, Reports Declining Production Beyond Forecasts
Key Takeaways
- •Fresnillo PLC is reported to be experiencing a sharper-than-expected decline in total silver production.
- •Steve St. Angelo described the production trend as troubling and said upcoming market activity could be revealing for the silver market.
- •Fresnillo is a Mexico-based precious metals miner listed on the London Stock Exchange and included in the FTSE 100 Index.
- •The company operates silver projects in Mexico, including Fresnillo, Saucito, and Juanicipio.
- •The decline comes amid concerns about falling ore grades, higher extraction costs, and strong industrial demand for silver.
Fresnillo PLC, the world's largest primary silver producer, is experiencing a notable decline in total silver production that exceeds earlier forecasts, according to independent researcher Steve St. Angelo.
St. Angelo, writing for SilverSeek, described the trend as "troubling" and suggested that upcoming market activity could provide a telling signal for the silver sector.
Fresnillo PLC is a Mexico-based precious metals mining company listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The company operates multiple mines across Mexico, including the Fresnillo, Saucito, and Juanicipio silver projects. Mexico is the world's largest silver-producing country, and Fresnillo has consistently ranked as the world's largest producer of silver from primary silver mines — a distinction that matters because a significant portion of global silver supply is produced as a byproduct of mining for other metals such as copper, lead, and zinc, meaning primary silver miners like Fresnillo are a key barometer for silver-specific supply dynamics.
The reported production decline at Fresnillo comes amid broader concerns about falling ore grades and the increasing energy costs associated with extracting precious metals from deeper and more complex deposits. These challenges are particularly relevant for silver, which has seen growing industrial demand in recent years, especially from solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing and electronics, sectors that account for a substantial share of global silver consumption.
St. Angelo, who writes under the name SRSrocco, has focused his research extensively on how energy dynamics and the declining Energy Returned On Invested (EROI) ratio affect the mining industry and precious metals markets. He argues that EROI — the ratio of energy obtained from a resource relative to the energy expended to extract it — is a critical and underexamined factor influencing mining productivity and long-term metal supply.
The full analysis is available at SilverSeek. Additional research by St. Angelo can be found at SRSrocco Report.
