Antofagasta sees lower 2022 copper production on water shortage
Reuters
Published Jan 19, 2022 09:20
LONDON (Reuters) - Chilean miner Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) on Wednesday forecast annual copper production below 2021 levels, as operations continue to be impacted by Chile's driest weather in years.
The London-listed miner, majority owned by Chile's Luksic family, said 2021 copper production fell 1.7% to 721,500 tonnes, which was within the range of the company's outlook.
For 2022 it forecast 660,000 to 690,000 tonnes, because of lower grades at some operations and an expected shortage of water.
Water is essential in copper production, used abundantly to separate the mineral from its ore and in subsequent steps.
To counter water shortages, many mining companies desalinate ocean water and use it in their processes.
Antofagasta is redesigning a desalination plant at its flagship Los Pelambres mine, for which costs are being reviewed. It expects to complete work on the concentrator plant expansion early in 2023.
For 2022, it expects capital expenditure of $1.7–1.9 billion, up from $1.6 billion in 2021, due to higher development costs at Los Pelambres.
Copper prices broke records in 2021 and Chile, which produces nearly 30% of the world's output, largely maintained production even during the worst of the pandemic. Copper is essential in construction and electric vehicle manufacturing.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.