China’s CMOC reports jump in copper and cobalt output

Chinese miner CMOC’s first-quarter copper and cobalt production was up by 123% and 392% respectively, it said on Monday.

The company, which mines copper and cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, produced 147,500 metric tons of copper and 25,200 tons of cobalt in the first three months of the year.

Its Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) site added new mining capacity in March, lifting annual capacity to 450,000 tons of copper and 37,000 tons of cobalt. That places TFM within the ranks of the world’s top 10 copper mines, CMOC said on Monday.

CMOC has been ramping up output and exports after resolving a dispute with the country’s state miner in April.

Its cobalt output last year reached 55,526 tons, surpassing Swiss-based Glencore as the world’s biggest cobalt producer.

Copper sales were 44 times higher at 125,500 tons in the first quarter while cobalt sales were 24 times higher at 243,000 tons.

The company has set its 2024 copper production guidance at 520,000 to 570,000 tons, compared with 419,539 tons in 2023.

(By Siyi Liu and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by David Goodman)

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