MMG Limited today announced its second quarter 2017 production result, producing 142,876 tonnes of copper in the three months to June, driven by strong output at the Las Bambas and Kinsevere operations.
Las Bambas marked its first full year of production on 1 July 2017, with 430,054 tonnes of copper in copper concentrate produced over the past 12 months. Las Bambas expects to produce 420,000-460,000 tonnes of copper in copper concentrate in 2017.
“Our Las Bambas asset is already one of the world’s top ten copper mines for production, and has delivered an impressive performance throughout its first year of commercial production,” MMG CEO Jerry Jiao said.
“Inventory on hand remains at low levels with excellent concentrate logistics performance during the second quarter of 2017,” he said.
Kinsevere also performed strongly, producing 19,855 tonnes of copper cathode, 3% above the first quarter of 2017. Sepon produced 15,606 tonnes of copper cathode in the June quarter, a reduction of 7% on the first quarter of 2017 as the operation continues to mine and process larger volumes of more complex, lower grade ore. Zinc in zinc concentrate production at Rosebery was down 4% on the first quarter of 2017, at 18,373 tonnes.
“This solid June quarter result is underpinned by MMG’s commitment to creating value through mine plan optimisation and a strong focus on safety, cost and efficiency improvements across the company,” Mr Jiao said. “Demand remains strong for copper concentrate, with Peru now the lead supplier to the Chinese market,” he added.
MMG’s Dugald River project is now around 73% complete and is progressing favourably against the target for first production in early 2018.
MMG expects to produce 560,000-615,000 tonnes of copper and 65,000-72,000 tonnes of zinc in 2017.
Download a full copy of the MMG Second Quarter 2017 Production Report.