Chilean poly-metal miner Antofagasta reported an 11pc dip in copper output from its mines in Q2 2020.
Iván Arriagada, the company’s chief executive officer, said in the company’s production report on Wednesday that the impact of COVID-19 was felt across the Chilean mining industry. However, with resilient mining operations and two-thirds of the company’s workforce at the site, Antofagasta stuck close to its production guidance.
The company will retain its annual copper guidance of 725,000-755,000mt, albeit on the lower end of the spectrum as it remains confident about recovery if there are no more shutdowns during the year.
In Q2 2020, Antofagasta’s copper concentrate output fell by 11pc to 177,000mt, from the same quarter last year and was down by 4pc to 371,000mt in the first six months of 2020, from H1 2019.
Of the total copper output in the second quarter, the Los Pelambres mine contributed 89,900mt with Centinela bringing in 55,100mt while Antucoya and Zaldivar produced 20,200mt and 12,500mt, respectively.
Copper sales in Q2 2020 stood at 178,900mt down by 13pc from the same quarter last year and fell by 1.9pc to 374,200mt in H1 2020 compared with H1 2019.