Antofagasta Backs Gold, Copper Forecasts Despite Third-Quarter Drop

By Ian Walker

LONDON--Chilean copper producer Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) said Thursday it remains on track to achieve its 2013 targets for production and cash costs, despite reporting a fall in both copper and gold production in the third quarter against the earlier quarter.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, copper production was 174,200 tons, down 3.4% compared with the previous quarter, primarily due to forecast lower grades across the operations and in line with expectations.

Gold production was 67,700 ounces in the third quarter, a 12% decrease on the second quarter due to lower grades at its Esperanza mine.

Antofagasta said its forecasts for production in 2013 remain unchanged at 700,000 tons of copper, 280,000 ounces of gold and 8,000 tons of molybdenum.

It also remains on track to achieve cash costs before by-product credits of $1.85 per pound and net cash costs of $1.40/lb, it said. Cash costs in the third quarter, before by-product credits, were in line with expectations at $1.84/lb, 2.2% higher than the previous quarter, primarily due to higher costs at Esperanza

Shares closed in London on Wednesday at 897 pence, valuing the company at GBP8.85 billion ($14.31 billion).

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