Canada’s Lundin Mining has increased the annual projection for nickel by 2,000mt to 17,000-20,000mt following better-than-expected production results for the metal from its Eagle mine in Q1 2021.
The company said in its Q1 2021 earnings report on Wednesday that it is confident about achieving its 2021 guidance for copper and zinc at 275,000-295,000mt and 141,000-151,000mt, respectively.
In Q1 2021, the miner produced 57,354mt of copper from its three mines down from 62,167mt produced in the same quarter last year. The company attributed the lower production to a planned output of lower grades at Candelaria and Chapada and lower mill throughput at its Neves-Corvo mine.
Zinc production in the first quarter fell to 33,365mt from 26,947mt in Q1 2020 due to higher cash costs at its Zinkgruvan mine and lower mill throughput at Neves-Corvo. Still, the company plans to lift production of this metal significantly once its Zinc Expansion Project at Neves-Corvo is completed by the end of this year.
The company’s nickel production grew to 5,354mt in Q1 from 3,575mt in the same quarter last year after its Eagle mine produced higher volumes of nickel and copper.
Lundin’s consolidated revenue also grew during the quarter on higher metal prices. The company reported revenue of $681.5mn in Q1 2021 against $378mn in the same quarter last year. Its net earnings during the same quarterly timeframe increased to $154.2mn compared to a loss of $113.6mn last year. Its adjusted EBITDA rose to $354.4mn from $90.3mn in the same period.