Chilean miner Antofagasta said on Wednesday its first-quarter copper output fell 11% from a year earlier due to reduced ore grades at its Centinela operations and maintenance at Los Pelambres.
It produced 129,400 metric tons of copper, down 32.4% from the fourth quarter of last year, the London-listed group said.
Antofagasta, which operates four mines in top copper producer Chile, reiterated that it expects output in 2024 of between 670,000 and 710,000 tons, a range that fell short of analysts’ estimates when it was first announced in October. The miner produced 660,600 tons last year.
The group’s capital expenditure is set to increase to $2.7 billion in 2024 from $2 billion last year as it starts work on its Centinela concentrator.
(By Clara Denina; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Jason Neely)
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