UPDATE 1-Fresnillo hits silver target, gold down due to explosives ban

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LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Mexican precious metals miner Fresnillo FRES.L said on Tuesday it had hit its 2013 production target for silver, but just missed a target for gold that had been lowered because of a ban on the use of explosives at one of its mines.

The FTSE 100 miner, the world's largest primary silver producer, produced 42.7 million ounces of attributable silver (including silverstream) in 2013 - up 4.3 percent on the previous year and ahead of the 41 million ounces it had forecast.

It produced 425,831 ounces of gold, just below revised guidance of 425,900 ounces. Fresnillo cut its forecast for 2013 gold production by 8.4 percent last December due to a ban on the use of explosives at its Minera Penmont mine.

In 2014, Fresnillo said it expected to increase production of attributable silver to 43 million ounces and pegged attributable gold production at 450,000 ounces with the resumption of mining at Minera Penmont and increases at its Noche Buena mine.

The firm reiterated guidance of hitting annual production of 65 million ounces of silver and 500,000 attributable ounces of gold by 2018.

Fresnillo's share price has more than halved since this time last year, hit by tumbling gold XAU= and silver prices , as well as operational issues.

(Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Silvia Antonioli and Elizabeth Piper)

((Stephen.Eisenhammer@thomsonreuters.com)(+44 207 542 5084)(Reuters Messaging: Stephen.Eisenhammer.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))

Keywords: FRESNILLO PRODUCTION