Production by Chile’s state copper miner Codelco rose 9.3% year on year in August to 154,700 tonnes, but the total for the first eight months of 2019 dropped 8.4% to 1.06 million tonnes compared to the year-ago period, state copper commission Cochilco said on Monday.
Production at BHP’s Escondida copper mine, the world’s largest, fell 8.5% year on year in August to 770,800 tonnes. At Collahuasi, majority owned by Anglo American and Glencore , production rose 0.5% year on year to 352,500 tonnes in August, the copper commission added.
Codelco has pointed to declining ore grades, inclement weather around its northern mines and operational issues as reasons for lower production.
Chile’s overall copper production declined 0.4% year on year in August to 3.76 million tonnes.
(By Fabian Cambero and Aislinn Laing; Editing by Richard Chang)
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