The Chilean copper miner Antofagasta has published its first half of 2024 results and forecasted its copper production to be in the lower end of the guidance range.
The company said that its first half of 2024 copper output fell 4% to 284,700 tons year on year due to lower production from Centinela concentrates which was offset by higher production at Centinela cathodes and Los Pelambres, with the latter happening despite the inventory build-up at the project in February 2024.
Meanwhile, in the second quarter of the year its production rose to 155,300 metric tons from 149,600 tons in the same quarter last year. The miner now expects its full-year output to be in the lower end of its estimate of 670,000 - 710,000 tons.
Antofagasta plans to capitalize on projected future copper demand and is actively investing in output expansion.
“At Antofagasta, through our consistent investment throughout the commodity cycle, we have delivered growth and built a portfolio of high-quality, long-life operations. At Centinela, construction work is progressing ahead of schedule at the Second Concentrator Project. At Los Pelambres, the Phase 1 Expansion Project has successfully ramped-up to nameplate capacity,” said the company’s CEO Iván Arriagada.
“Taken together, these investments will add both growth and long-term security to the future of our portfolio at a time when there is strong and widespread recognition of copper’s fundamental role in the energy transition.”
Antofagasta’s gold production (mined as an accompanying mineral at its copper operations) remained mostly stable at 33,600 ounces in the second quarter of 2024, with higher gold output at Los Pelambres offset by a similar decline at Centinela. However, gold production decreased 22% in the first six month of the year to 66,900 ounces.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
