Q4 Production Report
Antofagasta PLC
31 January 2008
Antofagasta plc
31 January, 2008
Quarterly Production Report - Q4 2007
Highlights
• Group copper production for 2007 was 428,100 tonnes compared to 465,500
tonnes in 2006, mainly due to the expected lower ore grades at Los
Pelambres.
• Molybdenum production at Los Pelambres increased to a record 10,200
tonnes for the year (2006 - 9,800 tonnes).
• Group cash costs for 2007 were 31.6 cents per pound compared with 40.2
cents per pound in 2006 due to improved by-product credits and reduced
tolling charges, partly offset by increased on-site costs.
Group Total Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Full Year Full Year
2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2006
Total production of
payable
copper ('000 tonnes) 105.9 106.1 100.6 115.4 428.1 465.5
Total production of
payable
moly ('000 tonnes) 2.1 2.8 2.5 2.7 10.2 9.8
Weighted average cash
costs
(cents per pound) 35.8 24.8 30.1 35.5 31.6 40.2
Los Pelambres
Los Pelambres produced 81,600 tonnes of payable copper in Q4, 22.5% above Q3
production. This was due to both increased plant throughput and improved ore
grades. The increased plant throughput was achieved by improvements in the
crushing process, thereby mitigating the impact of the continued higher
proportion of harder primary ore. Annual production in 2007 was 289,900 tonnes,
slightly ahead of the most recent forecast, but 10.6% below the 2006 production
of 324,200 tonnes, mainly due to the lower ore grades this year. For 2008
production is expected to be approximately 330,000 tonnes, due to better ore
grades and higher throughput.
Molybdenum production was 2,700 tonnes in Q4, 8.0% above the previous quarter.
The increase was due to improved molybdenum grades and the increased plant
throughput. Annual production for 2007 was 10,200 tonnes, a 4.1% increase
compared with 2006, mainly due to improved grades. Molybdenum production is
expected to be approximately 6,800 tonnes in 2008. The forecast decrease in
production is mainly due to lower molybdenum grades in those areas of the mine
due to be worked under the 2008 plan.
Cash costs in Q4 were negative 7.5 cents per pound compared to negative 19.6
cents per pound in Q3, an increase of 12.1 cents per pound, mainly due to lower
by-product credits per pound of copper produced.
Cash costs for the 2007 full year were negative 10.8 cents per pound compared
with 16.4 cents per pound for 2006, a decrease of 27.2 cents per pound. This was
mainly due to higher by-product credits (reflecting the higher average
molybdenum price compared with 2006 and the increase in molybdenum production)
and lower tolling charges. These factors were partly offset by higher on-site
costs, as a result of increased machinery hire, maintenance, fuel, oil and
labour costs. The higher labour costs were due to the one-off bonus payments on
the early conclusion of the mine-port union negotiation in Q2 as well as the
plant union negotiation (originally due in mid-2008) which was concluded in Q4.
El Tesoro
Cathode production at El Tesoro in Q4 was 23,700 tonnes, a 5.3% increase
compared with Q3, due to improved throughput levels. Production for the full
year was 93,000 tonnes, which was ahead of the original forecast for the year
and just 1.1% below 2006 production. The lower plant throughput compared with
2006, due to high moisture levels in the ore processed, was largely offset by
the higher ore grades. The difficulties experienced with high moisture levels
were successfully resolved through modifications to the production process in
Q4. For 2008, production is expected to be approximately 90,000 tonnes.
Cash costs in Q4 were 128.6 cents per pound, an increase of 11.7 cents per pound
from the previous quarter. Full year costs averaged 109.8 cents per pound,
compared with 78.6 cents per pound in 2006. The main reasons for these increases
were higher energy costs and, to a lesser extent, increased sulphuric acid costs
(due to higher prices and consumption levels).
Michilla
Michilla produced 10,200 tonnes of copper cathodes in Q4, 1,200 tonnes below the
previous quarter. The earthquake which occurred in northern Chile on 14 November
resulted in some disruption during the quarter, which reduced throughput and the
grade of ore processed. Nevertheless, total annual production in 2007 was 45,100
tonnes of copper cathodes, only slightly below the original forecast for the
year. Production is expected to be approximately 43,000 tonnes in 2008.
Cash costs in Q4 were 163.4 cents per pound, an increase of 14.6 cents per pound
over the previous quarter. The increase was mainly due to the impact of the
lower Q4 production volumes on the unit costs. Cash costs for the full year were
143.5 cents per pound, compared to the original forecast for the year of 136
cents per pound, and compared to 126.4 cents per pound in 2006. The increase
compared to the previous year was mainly due to increased energy costs, the
impact of the bonus payment following the early conclusion of the labour
negotiation during Q2, and higher costs of third party services.
Transport
The transport division had a successful operational performance during 2007 with
combined rail and road tonnages of over 6.3 million tons, 6.4% above 2006. Rail
tonnages transported in 2007 increased by 11.6% over 2006 due to increases from
various mines. The most significant of these was the Spence mine where the
combined volumes of sulphuric acid and copper cathodes contributed an additional
0.3 million tons.
Water
The water division continued to perform strongly, with Q4 water volumes
increasing to 10.4 million cubic metres, 7.1% above the previous quarter. This
was mainly due to higher domestic consumption in the period. The volume of water
sold in 2007 increased by 5.5% over the previous year as a result of higher
volumes to industrial customers, mainly due to the full-year impact of Spence
which started its operations during the second half of 2006.
Los Pelambres Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Full Year Full Year
2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2006
Production statistics
Daily average ore
treated
('000 tonnes) 125.0 126.0 120.9 133.3 126.3 127.4
Average ore grade
(%) 0.71 0.70 0.68 0.73 0.71 0.81
Average recovery
(%) 92.5 91.9 91.1 93.6 92.3 88.7
Concentrate
produced
('000 tonnes) 186.5 202.6 208.8 274.3 872.1 842.6
Average
concentrate
grade
(%) 39.6 36.5 32.9 30.7 34.5 39.9
Fine copper in
concentrate
('000 tonnes) 73.1 73.6 68.9 84.5 300.1 335.2
Payable copper in
concentrate
('000 tonnes) 70.7 71.1 66.6 81.6 289.9 324.2
Average moly ore
grade
(%) 0.033 0.030 0.027 0.030 0.030 0.028
Average moly
recovery
(%) 66.7 75.6 78.7 76.8 74.2 76.1
Payable moly
('000 tonnes) 2.1 2.8 2.5 2.7 10.2 9.8
Cash costs statistics
On-site and
shipping
costs
(cents per pound) 64.7 82.0 77.3 80.6 76.3 56.4
Tolling charges
for
concentrates
(cents per pound) 25.7 31.9 33.8 27.3 29.6 39.7
By - product
credits
(cents per pound)*(86.3) (135.2) (130.8) (115.4) (116.7) (79.7)
Cash costs
(cents per pound) 4.2 (21.3) (19.6) (7.5) (10.8) 16.4
(*) Note: By-products credits do not include any costs attributable to the
production of molybdenum concentrate. By-product calculations also do not take
into account unrealised mark-to-market gains at the beginning or end of each
period.
El Tesoro Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Full Year Full Year
2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2006
Daily average ore
treated ('000 tonnes) 27.8 26.3 24.7 28.5 26.8 28.7
Average ore grade
(%) 1.21 1.25 1.27 1.19 1.23 1.16
Average recovery
(%) 77.4 77.3 79.4 77.0 77.8 78.1
Copper cathodes
('000 tonnes) 23.6 23.2 22.5 23.7 93.0 94.0
Cash costs
(cents per pound) 87.4 106.5 116.9 128.6 109.8 78.6
Michilla Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Full Year Full Year
2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2006
Daily average ore
treated
('000 tonnes) 15.2 15.4 15.1 13.7 14.8 15.2
Average ore grade
(%) 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.00 1.03 1.05
Average recovery
(%) 81.2 78.3 78.3 78.5 79.1 78.2
Copper cathodes
('000 tonnes) 11.6 11.8 11.4 10.2 45.1 47.3
Cash costs
(cents per pound) 123.1 141.4 148.8 163.4 143.5 126.4
Transport Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Full Year Full Year
2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2006
Rail tonnage
transported
('000 tons) 1,253 1,301 1,195 1,259 5,008 4,486
Road tonnage
transported
('000 tons) 321 342 340 309 1,313 1,456
Water Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Full Year Full Year
2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2006
Water volume sold
-potable and
untreated
('000 m3) ** 10,069 9,740 9,679 10,369 39,858 37,798
(**) Note: Water volumes include water transportation of 300,000 m3 in Q1,
266,000 m3 in Q2, 348,000 m3 in Q3 and 343,000 m3 in Q4 and total for 2007 of
1,258,000 m3 (compared to 1,604,000 m3 in 2006).
The Q4 2007 water volumes include 77,000 m3 of water supplied during the first
nine months of 2007 but not originally recorded within those periods.
Enquiries - investor relations:
Alejandro Rivera
arivera@aminerals.cl Santiago: (56-2) 798 7145
Desmond O'Conor
doconor@antofagasta.co.uk London: (44) 20 7808 0988
Hussein Barma
London: (44) 20 7808 0988
hbarma@antofagasta.co.uk
Enquiries - media:
Keith Irons, Bankside Consultants London: (44) 20 7367 8873
keith@bankside.com
Oliver Winters, Bankside Consultants London: (44) 20 7367 8874
oliver.winters@bankside.com
This information is provided by RNS
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