AngloAmerican produced 638,000mt of copper in 2019 down by 4pc from 668,000mt produced in the prior year while, nickel production rose in the year by 1pc to 426,000mt from 423,000mt, the prior year.
The company produced 159,000mt of copper in December quarter down by 14pc but, nickel output rose by 3pc to 117,000mt from the prior year quarter.
| Mined Production (mt) | 2019 | 2018 | Pc Change | Q4 2019 | Q4 2018 | Pc Change |
| Copper | 638,000 | 668,000 | -4% | 159,000 | 184,000 | -14% |
| Nickel | 426,000 | 423,000 | 1% | 117,000 | 114,000 | 3% |
Copper production dropped on a reduction at Los Bronces, driven by the continued drought conditions in central Chile, partially offset by continued strong plant performance at Collahuasi, according to the company. Production from Los Bronces decreased by 28pc to 71,700mt with a 44pc reduction in plant throughput (7mn mt vs 13mn mt) resulting from lower water availability.
The company maintained its copper production guidance for 2020 at 620,000-670,000mt, based on water availability. Production guidance for nickel 2020 is kept unchanged at 42,000-44,000mt.