Chinese metals miner, MMG has reported an 11pc decrease in its copper ore resources by the end of H1 2020, compared with the same period last year due to a depletion of ore stockpiles and lower metal prices during that period.
In a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Dec 2, MMG indicated that the copper resources at its Las Bambas mine in Chile had declined by 1.58mn mt by the end of June 2020 to 1.42bn mt from the same time last year. However, new ore discovery at the Chalcobamba deposit at Las Bambas added around 350,000mt of copper ore.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the miner more than doubled its copper resources through discoveries at Sokorshe II, Nambulwa DZ, and Mwepu mines. The total copper ore from these mines added another 80,000mt to MMG’s copper reserves.
MMG also reported a 5pc rise in its zinc reserves on improved drilling at its Dugald River zinc deposits in Australia, where contained zinc ore increased by 600,000mt or 8pc during the period under review.