Colombia’s gold output rises in 2015; Nickel, silver and platinum output drops

ALBANY (Scrap Monster): The production of almost all major metals by Colombia reported heavy decline during 2015. While the output of gold reported significant increase during the year, nickel, silver, platinum and coal production lagged behind, in accordance with the official government data released yesterday.

According to data released by Colombia’s National Mining Agency, nickel production declined sharply by 11% from 90.9 million lb in 2014 to 80.8 million lb in 20156. The drop in nickel output is mainly on account of strike at Cerro Matoso nickel mine located in the Cordoba area of northern Colombia, owned by BHP Billiton spinoff South32.

The gold production during 2015 rose marginally by 3.8% to 1.9 million Oz, in comparison with the output of 1.83 million Oz during 2014.

Silver production decreased by 11.7% over the year from 369,683 Oz in 2014 to 326,482 Oz during entire year 2015. Meantime, Colombia’s platinum output has dropped sharply by nearly 24% from 36,480 Oz in 2014 to 27,669 Oz in 2015.

Colombia’s coal production reported marginal decline year-on-year. The production dropped by 3.5% from 88.6 million mt in 2014 to 85.5 million mt in 2015. The drop in production is primarily on account of delay in shipments due to strike by workers on the FENOCO railway that carries coal from mines to the ports on the Caribbean coast.