The months of August and September have been favorable for mining activity, with positive indicators due to the increase in gold production in the country’s main deposit, after 48 consecutive months of negative results.
According to the latest report from the Central Bank, mining activity showed a positive performance in August, with an 8.5% growth, and in September, with an increase of 16.9%, supported by the increase in gold production in the country’s main deposit.
These data coincide with the entity’s forecasts, which estimated an upturn for the second half of this year due to the completion of the expansion of the extraction plant in said deposit.
However, these indicators have not been sufficient to achieve a significant rebound in participation within the monthly indicator of economic activity (IMAE), since it was the only activity that registered a negative variation of -6.1% among the 17 activities analyzed by the regulatory entity, which reported an economic growth of 5.1% at the end of September of this year.
Performance years ago
This has not been the only period of negative results for this activity; according to data from the Central Bank, in the last 48 months mining has experienced significant declines, with 2021 being the year with the lowest contraction, with a closing of -0.1%.
Regarding the first six months of this year, the added value of the mining and quarrying activity showed a contraction of 12.3%, as a result of the decrease in the production levels of gold (-2.1%) and ferronickel (-100.0%).
On the other hand, there were increases in the production volumes of copper (51.3%), silver (36.2%), gypsum (12.9%) and sand, gravel and gravel (1.7%), which helped mitigate the negative performance of the activity.
Barrick Expansion
The expansion of the Barrick Gold mining company has an impact on the increase in the participation of gold in economic activity. This company contemplated an investment of US$1.4 billion.
The extension of operations would be until the year 2043, with the projection of extracting 800,000 ounces of mineral per year.
The composition of the extracted minerals is 70% silver and 30% gold, which, mixed, is known as doré. Investment in social responsibility has been US$45 million since 2013, with an annual average of US$3.5 million, distributed across four provinces, nine municipalities and 41 communities, benefiting more than 183,000 people.
Indicators
Activity
The monthly indicator of economic activity registered an expansion of 4.7% during the month of September of this year, thus accumulating an average year-on-year growth of 5.1% in January-September 2024.
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