Q2 Production report
Antofagasta PLC
27 July 2005
The following statement has been released by Antofagasta plc and is distributed
in London by Bankside Consultants Ltd on behalf of the Company. Contact: Keith
Irons, 020 7367 8873.
27 July 2005
Antofagasta plc
Quarterly Production Report - Q2 2005
Highlights
* Group cash costs remain at a record low due to continued high
molybdenum prices.
* Group production in Q2 was 108,500 tonnes compared with 118,900 tonnes
in Q1.
* Molybdenum production at Los Pelambres increased to 2,500 tonnes in Q2
compared with 2,200 tonnes in Q1.
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Acc Acc Full Year
Group Total 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2004 2004
Total copper production
('000 tonnes) 118.9 108.5 227.4 235.4 498.4
Weighted average
Cash costs (cents per pound) (7.9) (9.6) (8.7) 31.2 24.3
Los Pelambres
Los Pelambres produced 74,400 tonnes of payable copper in Q2, 7.7% less than in
the previous quarter. This reduction was due both to lower ore throughput as a
result of planned maintenance carried out in June as well as the lower ore grade
expected in the current sequence of the mine plan. Production in the first six
months of the year reached 154,900 tonnes whilst shipments, due to timing
differences, were 150,600 tonnes.
Molybdenum production rose from 2,200 tonnes in Q1 to 2,500 tonnes in Q2, due to
better grades and recoveries. Molybdenum prices also increased, with market
prices averaging US$35.3 per pound compared with US$31.4 per pound in Q1. The
by-product credit reached 126.8 cents per pound of copper produced, 16.9 cents
above Q1.
The significant by-product credit outweighed underlying costs by 50.6 cents
(i.e. negative cash costs) compared with -45.9 cents in Q1. Increased
underlying costs were affected by the lower production volume as well as higher
treatment and refining charges due to a significant volume of spot sales in
June.
El Tesoro
El Tesoro produced 23,600 tonnes in Q2, 10.3% lower than in the previous quarter
mainly due to reduced ore throughput while additional processing capacity was
installed. In addition, the SX-EW plant suffered a temporary stoppage in June
due to a rupture in the raffinate pipeline which has since been resolved.
Nevertheless, these factors were partly offset by the higher ore grade in the
quarter in line with the mine plan.
Cash costs increased 2.3 cents per pound compared to the previous quarter to
reach 60.1 cents per pound in Q2 in line with expectations. The higher cash cost
was due to the lower production level and higher costs arising from a higher
waste-to-ore ratio, fuel costs and acid costs.
El Tesoro is continuing to seek environmental approval for the crushing plant
expansion which may delay its implementation and could marginally impact the
current production forecast of 99,000 tonnes for 2005 by up to 5,000 tonnes.
Michilla
Production in Q1 was 10,600 tonnes, 11.7% below the previous quarter. The
decrease was mainly due to the lower ore grade as a result of operational
factors in the underground mine referred to in last quarter's report as well as
lower grades in the Lince open pit. In addition the ore processing level was
lower this quarter due to a difficulty with the secondary crushing system.
Cash costs reached 123.2 c/lb in Q2, 20.8 cents per pound over the previous
quarter due primarily to lower production and increases in acid, fuel and
reagent prices.
Transport
Total tonnage transported (both rail and road) in the first half of 2005 reached
2.9 million tons which represents an increase of 4% compared to the same period
last year.
Water
Water sales in the first half of 2005 increased 3.3% to 16.6 million cubic
metres in comparison with the same period last year.
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Acc Acc Full Year
Los Pelambres 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2004 2004
Daily average ore treated
('000 tonnes) 129.0 124.0 126.5 121.4 125.9
Average ore grade
(%) 0.79 0.77 0.78 0.88 0.88
Average recovery
(%) 91.0 90.2 90.6 88.1 89.1
Concentrate produced
('000 tonnes) 222.0 202.6 424.6 453.5 948.8
Average concentrate grade
(%) 37.5 38.6 38.0 37.6 38.2
Fine copper in concentrate
('000 tonnes) 83.3 76.9 160.3 170.7 362.6
Payable copper in
concentrate 80.6 74.4 154.9 165.0 350.6
('000 tonnes)
Payable moly
('000 tonnes) 2.2 2.5 4.7 3.7 7.9
Cash costs (before
by-product) (cents per
pound) 64.0 76.2 69.9 53.1 53.7
By-product credits
(cents per pound) (109.9) (126.8) (118.0) (35.0) (45.8)
Cash costs
(cents per pound) (45.9) (50.6) (48.1) 18.0 7.9
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Acc Acc 2004 Full Year
El Tesoro 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2004
Daily average ore treated
('000 tonnes)* 26.3 22.9 24.6 24.2 25.4
Average ore grade
(%) 1.34 1.41 1.37 1.34 1.35
Average recovery
(%) 82.4 81.8 82.1 78.2 78.1
Copper cathodes
('000 tonnes) 26.3 23.6 49.9 46.9 97.8
Cash costs
(cents per pound) 57.8 60.1 58.9 50.5 52.4
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Acc Acc Full Year
Michilla 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2004 2004
Daily average ore treated
('000 tonnes) 15.3 14.5 14.9 15.9 16.1
Average ore grade
(%) 1.09 0.99 1.04 1.08 1.11
Average recovery
(%) 76.1 75.7 75.9 75.1 75.4
Copper cathodes
('000 tonnes)* 12.0 10.6 22.6 23.5 50.0
Cash costs
(cents per pound) 102.4 123.2 112.2 84.7 85.6
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Acc Acc Full Year
Transport 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2004 2004
Rail tonnage transported
('000 tons) 1,126 1,090 2,216 2,132 4,479
Road tonnage transported
('000 tons) 348 379 728 698 1,414
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Acc Acc Full year
Water 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2004 2004
Water volume sold - potable
and untreated ('000 m3)* 8,315 8,242 16,557 16,025 32,575
(*) Note : Minor adjustments have been made to the Q1 2005 figures previously
reported for El Tesoro daily average ore treated, Michilla copper cathodes (and
therefore group copper production and group cash cost) and water sales.
For further enquiries:
Desmond O'Conor, Antofagasta plc
doconor@antofagasta.co.uk (44) 20 7808 0988
Hussein Barma, Antofagasta plc
hbarma@antofagasta.co.uk (44) 20 7808 0988
Alejandro Rivera, Antofagasta Minerals
arivera@aminerals.cl (56-2) 377 5145
Issued by:
Keith Irons, Bankside Consultants
keith@bankside.com (44) 20 7367 8873
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