In April 2024, mineral exports reached a value of $267 million, accumulating a total of $1.134 billion in the first four months of the year. This represents a year-on-year decrease of 9.9% for April and a 13.9% drop for the year-to-date. Additionally, according to estimates from the National Secretariat of Mining, the accumulated total for 2024 is 6.2% below the average recorded between 2010 and 2023 for the same months.
By Panorama Minero
Of the $267 million exported in April, $209 million came from metalliferous minerals, which implies a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.2% compared to April 2023 for this category. These products represented 78.2% of the total mining exports for the month, with gold accounting for $169 million (63% of the total) and silver $34 million (13% of the total). The remaining $6 million (2.4% of the total) came from other metalliferous minerals, primarily lead.
By segment, the value of gold exports in April showed a year-on-year increase of 14.5% ($21 million more than in 2023), due to an increase in export volumes. In contrast, silver exports fell 42.4% year-on-year ($25 million less than in 2023), attributed to decreases in both export prices and export volumes.
In total, in the first four months of the year, exports of metalliferous minerals amounted to $897 million, representing a year-on-year decline of 6.9%. Of this amount, gold contributed $734 million (65% of the total), silver $143 million (13%), and other metalliferous minerals $20 million (2%). Thus, this category represented 79.1% of the total mining exports for the period. During these months, gold also experienced a year-on-year growth of 6.3% in export values, while silver fell 44.7% year-on-year.
Regarding lithium, $46 million were exported in April, representing a year-on-year decline of 37.7%. Despite this decrease, lithium ranked as the second most exported mineral in April, improving its position from the previous month where it was in third place. Thus, lithium accounted for 17.3% of total mining exports in April, with the drop in its export value explained by lower export prices.
Switzerland, China, the United States, and Canada were the main destinations for mining exports in April, absorbing 82% ($219 million) of the total mineral sales. For the year-to-date, these countries represented 75% ($852 million) of mining exports. Sales to these four countries were dominated by metalliferous minerals, which constituted 82% of total mining exports in both April and the first four months of the year. Additionally, these destinations accounted for 78% of metalliferous mineral exports for the same period, while the remaining 22% had India, Belgium, South Korea, Chile, and Peru as the main destinations.
In the case of lithium, similar to what happens with metalliferous minerals, exports are concentrated in a few destinations. In April, China and Germany represented 88% of lithium product exports, while in the first four months of the year, the figure was 89% with China, the United States, and South Korea as the main destinations. It is noteworthy that China’s share of lithium exports increased by 138% in the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
