Reuters reported that production of all main metals fell in Peru in 2011 from the previous year as depleted reserves and lower ore grades hit the major global producer.

The mining ministry said that Peru yielded 1.2 million tonnes of the red metal in 2011, 0.96% less than in 2010.

According to the government's data, zinc production fell 14.59% in 2011 to 1.3 million tonnes. Peru is also the world's No. 2 zinc and silver producer. The Andean country produced 0.04% less gold than it did in 2010. Latin America's top gold producer and the world's sixth largest, Peru churned out 164 million fine grams of the metal.

Peru hopes to increase its metals output in coming years when new mines open. However, work on what would be its largest, Newmont's USD 4.8 billion Conga gold and copper project, has been suspended due to community opposition.

(Sourced from Reuters)