24th Jul 2019 07:44
(Alliance News) - Chilean copper miner Antofagasta PLC on Wednesday held annual production guidance after a "strong" copper performance in the second quarter of 2019.
Production in the second quarter was 198,600 tonnes of copper, 5.3% higher than the prior quarter with all operations registering an increase. For the first half of 2019, copper output rose 22% year-on-year to 387,300 tonnes.
For 2019, Antofagasta still sees copper production at between 750,000 tonnes and 790,000 tonnes, but it has reduced cost guidance to USD1.25 per pound from USD1.30 per pound.
The quarter's gold production was 86,900 ounces, 40% up on the first quarter, while interim production more than doubled to 149,100 ounces due to higher grades at the Centinela mine.
Chief Executive Ivan Arriagada said: "Copper production was strong during the quarter and together with our rigorous control of costs this has reduced our unit costs.
"Our disciplined approach to costs, coupled with higher copper production, a weaker Chilean peso and higher by-product credits allowed us to achieve net cash costs of USD1.14 per pound, an 8.1% reduction from the previous quarter."
"Our priorities for the year remain our safety performance, and sustaining the strong momentum on operational reliability and efficiency, while also progressing the Los Pelambres expansion project," he added.
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