Antofagasta 3Q Copper Output -11.2%, Cash Costs +6.9%
03.11.09, 12:50 Uhr
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Chilean miner Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) Tuesday said third quarter copper production slipped 11.2% year-on-year, though stronger-than-anticipated prices for secondary product molybdenum helped keep cash costs below expectations.
Copper production was 109,900 metric tons in the three months ending Sept. 30, compared with 123,700 tons during the same period the previous year, the company said.
Lower production at the company's biggest mine, Los Pelambres, accounted for most of the decline, Antofagasta said.
"Cumulative production in the first nine months of the year was slightly ahead of budget at 328,100 tons," Antofagasta said.
In August the FTSE100 miner raised its full-year copper production target to 447,000 metric tons, compared with earlier guidance of 433,000 tons.
Total cash costs increased 6.9% to 81.7 cents per pound from 76.4 cents during the same period a year earlier, the company said.
At Pelambres, cash costs dropped to 60.6 cents, up 51.5% from a year earlier but well below the second quarter's 84.7 cents and full-year guidance of 83 cents.
The lower-than-expected cost resulted from rising prices for molybdenum, a byproduct of copper mining. Income from the metal, used in steelmaking, is credited against copper production costs.
"That's the only area that stood out, their cash costs were about 15% below guidance," said a London-based analyst.
Los Pelambres is Antofagasta's only mine that produces molybdenum. Production was 2,100 tons during the quarter compared with 1,900 tons a year earlier, while the price averaged $14.70 per pound up sharply from $9.20/lb in the second quarter but still well below $33.50/lb a year earlier.
Expansion projects at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres and Esperanza mines remained on schedule, the company said.
Antofagasta operates three copper mines in Chile. It also has transport and water divisions.
At 1116 GMT, the company's shares were down 22 pence, or 2.8%, at 771 pence, in a broadly weaker sector. The FTSE350 mining index was down 4%.
Company Web site: www.antofagasta.co.uk
Lower production at the company's biggest mine, Los Pelambres, accounted for most of the decline, Antofagasta said.
"Cumulative production in the first nine months of the year was slightly ahead of budget at 328,100 tons," Antofagasta said.
In August the FTSE100 miner raised its full-year copper production target to 447,000 metric tons, compared with earlier guidance of 433,000 tons.
Total cash costs increased 6.9% to 81.7 cents per pound from 76.4 cents during the same period a year earlier, the company said.
At Pelambres, cash costs dropped to 60.6 cents, up 51.5% from a year earlier but well below the second quarter's 84.7 cents and full-year guidance of 83 cents.
The lower-than-expected cost resulted from rising prices for molybdenum, a byproduct of copper mining. Income from the metal, used in steelmaking, is credited against copper production costs.
"That's the only area that stood out, their cash costs were about 15% below guidance," said a London-based analyst.
Los Pelambres is Antofagasta's only mine that produces molybdenum. Production was 2,100 tons during the quarter compared with 1,900 tons a year earlier, while the price averaged $14.70 per pound up sharply from $9.20/lb in the second quarter but still well below $33.50/lb a year earlier.
Expansion projects at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres and Esperanza mines remained on schedule, the company said.
Antofagasta operates three copper mines in Chile. It also has transport and water divisions.
At 1116 GMT, the company's shares were down 22 pence, or 2.8%, at 771 pence, in a broadly weaker sector. The FTSE350 mining index was down 4%.
Company Web site: www.antofagasta.co.uk
DJG/dok
