Lundin Mining’s copper production guidance for the year has reduced to 251,000–274,000mt from its previous guidance of 264,000–293,000mt.
The company said it reduced its copper guidance because the Candelaria copper mine’s output was affected due to COVID-19 related shutdowns and other operational issues in Q2 2020 while other mines’ operations remained unaffected. Lundin’s zinc and nickel outlooks for 2020 remain at 142,000-152,000mt and 15,000-18,000mt, respectively.
The miner’s total capital expenditure forecast of $450mn is slightly higher than its previous guidance of $440mn while its projected exploration expenditure remains unchanged at $35mn.
The firm’s copper production in H1 2020 increased by 26pc to 127,452mt compared to 93,807mt in the same period last year. Copper production in Q2 2020 also rose by 25pc to 65,285mt from 47,685mt during the same period in 2019.
Zinc production in H1 2020 declined by 12pc to 68,529mt from 77,562mt in H1 2019. In the second quarter of 2020, zinc production fell by 15pc to 31,582mt from 37,116mt in Q2 2019.
Lundin Mining’s nickel production also fell by 9pc in the first half of 2020 to 6,955mt from 7,611mt in H1 2019. However, nickel production in Q2 2020 dropped by 1pc to 3,380mt from 3,398mt in Q2 2019.
In the first six months of the year, the company’s revenue rose to $911.3mn from $785.6mn in H1 2019 and increased to $533.3mn in Q2 2020 compared to $369.3mn in Q2 2019. Its adjusted EBITDA in H1 2020 increased to $321.8mn from $252.6mn in the first half of 2019 while the firm’s adjusted EBITDA rose to $231.5mn in Q2 2020 from $75.6mn in Q2 2019.