Antofagasta copper veteran Hernandez retires, Arriagada named new CEO

Hernandez, 67, will stay on as an adviser to the board, the company said., adding that the new CEO, 52, has 25 years of operational and financial experience in the mining and oil and gas industries.

Like most copper miners, Antofagasta has been hit by a sustained commodities rout, becoming one of the worst-performers last year in the U.K.’s benchmark stock index. Last month, the company scrapped its dividend and promised to slash production costs further this year, while increasing production to compensate for lower prices.

The miner has also been affected by declining ore grades, unfavourable weather and operational disruptions caused by protesters concerned about water shortages in the area around its flagship Los Pelambres mine, located 200km north of capital Santiago.

Last year, the company merged two of its most promising copper operations in Chile’s north under a new company, Minera Centinela.

Antofagasta is one of the oldest companies listed in London. It is also one of the many companies expanding output in the next few years. Currently, the firm has majority stakes in four Chilean copper mines — Los Pelambres (60%), El Tesoro (70%), Michilla (74.2%) and Esperanza (74.2%).

The firm is also conducting exploration activities in Peru, while its owner — the Luksic group — holds exploration and mining ventures in Europe, Turkey, Australia, Africa and across the Americas.