Antofagasta copper output down in Q3

3rd Nov 2009 11:25

Chile-focused miner Antofagasta says copper production fell 11% in the third quarter from a year earlier despite increasing 3% from the previous quarter.It mined 109,900 tonnes of the red metal during the period versus 106,000 tonnes in the second quarter and 123,700 tonnes a year ago."As forecast, production decreased compared with the same period in 2008 mainly due to lower throughput at Los Pelambres," it said Tuesday.Los Pelambres produced 74,200 tonnes of payable copper in the latest quarter versus 77,300 the previous quarter, due to scheduled maintenance work during September and lower metallurgical recoveries.Molybdenum production was 2,100 tonnes in the third quarter and 5,800 tonnes in the first nine months of 2009, in line with budget.