Iron pellet production in Mexico decreased 9.4 percent in December, year-over-year, to 532,761 metric tons (mt), the 12th consecutive annual decline. Of the three main iron pellet producing states, a 35.1 percent drop stood out in the region where the steel giant Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) is located, according to a SteelOrbis analysis of data from the national statistics agency Inegi.
Of the three main mining and iron pellet producing states in Mexico, the most important with 69.9 percent of all production is located in the western state of Colima. In that entity, two large complexes stand out: 1) Peña Colorada, a 50-50 joint venture of the Luxembourg-based steel companies: Ternium and ArcelorMittal, and the Las Encinas mining complex, owned by Ternium.
In December, Colima saw varied trends. Production in the town of Manzanillo decreased 8.1 percent or 18,609 mt to 211,072 mt. In contrast, in the town of Cuauhtémoc production increased 12.5 percent or 16,775 mt to 150,474 mt. Thus, the total for the state of Colima decreased 0.5 percent to 361,546 mt. It is the third consecutive annual decline.
According to data from the governmental Mexican Geological Service (SGM), the mining complex located in Cuauhtémoc is Las Encinas de Ternium and the one located in Manzanillo is Peña Colorada.
In the region where ArcelorMittal México operates with its Las Truchas mining complex in Lázaro Cárdenas, in the western state of Michoacán, production in December was 103,206 mt, 13.7 percent, year-over-year. That year-end volume is the second lowest in the last 33 months.
The third largest region is in the northern state of Coahuila, the birthplace of the Altos Hornos de México steel company (AHMSA). Iron pellet production in December 2023 decreased 35.1 percent or 36,817 mt to total 68,009 mt. That production volume is one of the lowest in the last 30 years.