Adverse weather conditions trims Xstrata's coal production

26th Jul 2011 09:18

Mining giant Xstrata's coal production fell slightly in the first half of the year, partly due to the severe floods in Queensland, while total copper production was unchanged from the year before. For the six months ended 30 June, total mined copper production was 434,046 metric tonnes, compared to 434,147 metric tonnes recorded last year. Coal production dipped marginally to 38.5m tonnes, down 0.3%. Coal and copper are the main growth drivers for the company. The Anglo-Swiss miner said the full impact of new volumes was partly offset by severe flooding in Queensland earlier in the year, the temporary halt in operations at the Blakefield South mine due to an underground fire and temporary interruptions to the Ulan longwall as a result of significant water in the underground operating area.Xstrata was hurt by delays in the repair of damaged rail infrastructure prevented domestic and export sales from the Rolleston operation for several weeks, despite recovering quickly from the floods.In a separate press release, Xstrata Zinc said it will begin construction to develop the high grade zinc-lead-silver Lady Loretta deposit in north-west Queensland, Australia, as a new greenfield underground mine.Lady Loretta, which contains an estimated 13.7m tonnes of mineral resources, is 140km north-west of Xstrata Zinc's Mount Isa operations, is planned to be operational by the end of 2013. The infrastructure project is estimated to cost $239m.Shares of Xstrata gained 0.4% to 1,363p in morning trading in London. Its peers were mixed with Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton falling 0.1% and 0.7% respectively, while Anglo American shares were up 1%.AR