Chile’s Antofagasta produced 770,000mt of copper in 2019, up by 6.2pc from the prior year on higher production at Los Pelambres, Centinela and Zaldivar.
Copper production in the December quarter was 185,000mt, down by 16pc from the prior year and 5.8pc lower than the previous quarter on planned lower grades and maintenance at Centinela Concentrates and disruption of fuel deliveries to Los Pelembres due to social unrest in Chile.
For 2020, the company has guided copper production at 725,000 -755,000mt.
| Copper Mining Operations (Kt) | 2019 | 2018 | % Change | Q4 | Q3 | % Change |
| Los Pelambres | 363.4 | 357.8 | 2% | 92.3 | 90.6 | 2% |
| Centinela | 195.5 | 155.5 | 26% | 38.7 | 56.8 | -32% |
| Antucoya | 71.9 | 72.2 | 0% | 15.7 | 18.7 | -16% |
| Zaldivar | 58.1 | 47.3 | 23% | 16.1 | 14.5 | 11% |
The company had announced supplies disruption at Los Pelambres, in November and guided around 10,000mt reduction in production. However, the impact of the blockade was largely reversed over the rest of the quarter as the ratio of higher-grade ores processed was more than originally planned.
Progress on the Los Pelambres expansion project reached 31pc at the end of 2019. The copper production for the year increased by 1.6pc to 363,400 tonnes compared to 2018 due to higher grades.