The world’s second-largest copper producer Freeport McMoRan produced 910mn lbs (412,769mt) of copper in Q1 2021, compared with 731mn lbs in the same period last year.
In its Q1 earnings release, the company noted that sales also grew by 13pc to 825mn lbs from 729mn lbs from a year ago, attributed to the ramping up of mining activity at its Indonesian subsidiary, which operates the Grasberg mine. It is now expected to produce around 1.55bn lbs of copper a year.
During the first quarter, the company restarted the Chino mine at 50pc capacity of 100mn lbs per year. It also finished developing the Lone Star copper leach project and expects an annual production rate of 200mn lbs.
The company’s Q1 2021 revenues amounted to $4.8bn, doubling from 2.8bn in the prior year’s quarter. Freeport McMoRan posted a net income of $718mn, compared to a loss of $491mn in Q1 2020. The increase in profits was driven by the surge in copper prices over the quarter.