Freeport Indonesia to process 400,000t of copper concentrate at new smelter
Earlier this month, Freeport obtained an export permit for the rest of the year from the government.
Newmont Mining has cut its copper forecast for the year from about 170 million pounds to about 145 million pounds.
Newmont – one of the biggest gold producers in the world – revised its copper forecast due to lower than expected output at its Boddington mine in Australia and lower than expected ore grade processed at Batu Hijau in Indonesia.
Boddington saw a 6% drop in production in Q3 2013 compared to the same period last year – a 3% decrease in copper output for the company as a whole, according to preliminary quarterly production and sales results released on Thursday.
Copper sales were down 5% in Q2 2013 versus Q2 2012 levels.
Meanwhile, total gold sales for the same period rose by 4%.
The company’s gold output forecast remains unchanged at 4.8 to 5.1 million ounces.
Newmont will release third quarter 2013 results at the end of the month.
