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Miner Antofagasta lowered its net cash cost guidance for the year and maintained its annual production guidance amid 'strong' copper output in the second quarter of the year.
'We maintain our production guidance for the full year at 750-790,000 tonnes and net cash cost guidance for the year is now expected to be $1.25/lb, 5c/lb less than guided at the beginning of the year,' the company said.
Second-quarter copper production stood at 198,600 tonnes, 5.3% higher than the previous quarter and, as expected, grades increased, particularly at Centinela Concentrates, the company added.
For the first six months of the year, copper output was 387,300 tonnes, 22.2% higher than in the same period last year, which the company attributed to higher throughput and grades at most of its operations.
Gold production during the quarter increased by 39.7% to 86,900 ounces and for the first six months increased by 107.1% to 149,100 ounces.
Molybdenum production in the quarter was 3,000 tonnes, some 500 tonnes lower than the previous quarter.
Net cash costs were $1.14 per pound in the second quarter of the year and for the first half of the year were $1.19 per pound, an 8.1% decrease compared with the previous quarter and 21.7% lower than in the first half of 2018, primarily due to 'lower cash costs before by-product credits and higher by-product credits,' the company said.
'Our priorities for the year remain our safety performance, and sustaining the strong momentum on operational reliability and efficiency, while also progressing the Los Pelambres expansion project,' said Antofagasta plc CEO, Iván Arriagada.