Antofagasta sticks to 2018 targets as Q2 copper output rises
LONDON – Antofagasta on Wednesday reported a 6.1% increase in second-quarter copper production and a fall in costs, a trend the miner said would to continue for the rest of the year.
Copper production rose to 163 200 t while cash costs fell by 7.5% to $1.85/lb, helped by a weakened Chilean peso and higher production at its Centinela mine.
Antofagasta, majority owned by the wealthy Luksic family, stockpiled its copper concentrates in the period after it discovered a blockage in the pipeline that carries output from its Los Pelambres processing plant to the port.
CEO Iván Arriagada said net cash costs are expected to fall in the second half due to higher grades and by-product volumes while production is expected to rise as concentrate is moved to the ports.
Antofagasta stockpiled about 9 200 t of copper after discovering the blockage in May.
Full-year production guidance was maintained at between 705 000 t to 740 000 t and net cash costs at $1.35/lb, as the second half of the year is expected to improve on the first half.
"With the smaller operations appearing challenged at the moment, achieving much more than the bottom end of guidance could be a stretch," BMO Capital Markets analyst Edward Sterck said, warning that output would have to jump at least 22% to meet targets.
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