Peru mining output grows 3.14% in October, slowest in 8-months

Peru’s mining output grew by 3.14% in October on copper, gold and zinc extraction, the government said on Friday, marking the slowest growth in the past eight months.

In Peru, the world’s No. 2 copper exporter, production of the metal was up 2.1% from the same month a year ago, while gold and zinc jumped 10.0% and 10.4% respectively, said national statistics institute INEI.

Mining production in Peru has been steadily recovering since road blockades, part of anti-government protests, paralyzed the nation’s largest miners at the beginning of the year.

Peru slipped into a recession earlier this year, with Economy Minister Alex Contreras saying earlier this week that it would have been even worse if not for mining output.

Iron production fell 10.9% in October, while molybdenum production slipped 3.8%. The report did not give volumes for any of the metals.

Fishing production, also key to Peru’s economy, grew by 51.62% in October, the third-consecutive monthly increase, due to a greater catch of anchovy, which is used in fishmeal and animal feed.

Peru is the world’s top producer of fishmeal.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)