The value of Bolivia's minerals exports dropped 19.5% year on year to $237 million in February due to declining metals prices and operations closures, the government said Monday.
Zinc concentrates exports fell 17.4% year on year to $112.7 million in February, while silver dropped 20.7% to $83.6 million and copper plummeted 58.6% to $4.3 million, the country's National Statistics Institute said in a statement.
The value of gold, tungsten and antimony exports fell by half to $2.7 million, $2.2 million and $500,000, respectively, it said. Lead rose 6% to $24 million, while tin jumped 58.5% to $3 million.
Refined gold exports, which are reported separately, were little changed at $118.2 million, the agency said.
Refined silver rose 4% to $13.4 million, while copper cathodes gained 8% to $1.3 million, according to the agency. Refined tin dropped 7.7% to $43 million, while antimony plunged 63.8% to $1.5 million.
State mining company Comibol shut down its Karachipampa silver-lead smelter in December due to technical problems.
The value of Bolivia's total exports fell 31.5% to $1.04 billion from $1.52 billion a year earlier.
Bolivia, which is home to mines operated by Pan American Silver, Sumitomo, Coeur Mining, Orvana Minerals and Franklin Mining, produced 19,287 mt of tin, 407,332 mt of zinc, 82,131 mt of lead, 7,549 mt of copper and 41.2 million oz of silver in 2013, the most recent available figure, according to the mining ministry.
