Fresnillo in $165m payout to investors

Beleaguered investors in the world's biggest producer of silver, Fresnillo, have been buoyed by a $165m (£102m) dividend.

Shares have fallen from 1,900p to less than 1,000p since the start of the year, as the group suffered from volatile commodity prices, stalled gold production and the suspension of an explosives permit. But with a strong balance sheet to cover capital expenditure, the board decided to advance shareholders a portion of anticipated earnings through the extraordinary dividend.

Fresnillo has also bolstered its management, naming Roberto Diaz as chief operating officer. He was previously the group's vice president of both operations and project development.

Fellow miner Kazakhmys reported a strong set of production results yesterday, with copper cathode output said to be on track to be at the upper end of forecasts over the year.