Antofagasta said Tuesday that copper production in the second quarter was 100,900 tonnes, compared with 107,000 tonnes in the first quarter

The company said that Molybdenum production at Los Pelambres in the second quarter was 2,100 tonnes, marginally above the first quarter.

Group cash costs for the second quarter were 43.9 cents per pound, 11.7% lower than the first quarter mainly due to improved by-product credits.

Los Pelambres produced 67,500 tonnes of payable copper in the second quarter and 141,600 tonnes in the first six months of the year, 8.6% below the first six months of last year. The decrease was mainly due to a build-up of unfiltered copper concentrate at the concentrator plant in May when repairs were carried out to the slurry pipeline, reducing the volume available for filtration at the port in that month, the company said.

This concentrate was partly processed at the port in June with the remainder processed in July, and is not expected to have any overall effect on production volumes for the full year. The reduced production in the first half was also partly due to lower daily ore throughput at the concentrator plant (resulting from a higher proportion of harder primary ore compared with last year as well as programmed downtime to enable the construction of the 140,000 tonnes per day plant expansion) and lower recoveries, offset by the higher ore grade.

Volumes shipped in the first six months of this year were 145,400 tonnes. Molybdenum production in the second quarter increased to 2,100 tonnes and production in the first six months was 4,100 tonnes, in line with the year-to-date forecast but 12.5% below the first half of last year, the company said.

The decrease was due to a combination of changes in levels of partly-processed molybdenum concentrate, the lower ore throughput level and lower recoveries (resulting from the characteristics of the ore processed in the period), partly offset by the higher ore grade.

The company said that cash costs in the second quarter were 18.5 cents per pound, compared with 29.8 cents per pound in the first quarter due to improved byproduct credits this quarter. Cash costs averaged 24.4 cents per pound in the first six months of this year compared with negative 48.1 cents in the first half of last year.

The increase compared with last years first half was mainly due to lower by-product credits (which decreased by 47.0 cents) and higher treatment and refining charges (which increased by 13.8 cents).

Lower by-product credits resulted mainly from lower molybdenum market prices (which averaged $23.7 per pound in this years first half compared with $33.4 per pound in last years first half) as well as lower production. Treatment and refining charges increased through price participation by smelters as the average LME copper price increased to 275.3 cents per pound in this years first half (compared with 151.1 cents per pound in last years first half), Antofagasta said.

The company said that on-site and shipping costs for the second quarter remained in line with the first quarter. Costs for the first six months of the year remain in line with forecast, but were 11.7 cents per pound above last years first half, due to lower production as well as higher costs for fuel, energy, explosives and services.

The company said that Cathode production at El Tesoro in the second quarter was 21,800 tonnes, an increase of 4.8% compared with the first quarter, as better ore grades compensated for lower recoveries.

Production in the first six months of this year was 42,500 tonnes, in line with forecast but 14.7% lower than last years first half, as higher processing levels (following completion of the 10.5 million tonnes per year throughput expansion at the beginning of the year) were offset by expected lower grades and recoveries.

Cash costs in the first quarter were 79.8 cents per pound, in line with the previous quarter. Cash costs in the first six months of this year were 79.7 cents per pound compared with 58.9 cents per pound in last years first half, due to the lower production level and higher waste-to-ore ratio, increased consumption of sulphuric acid and higher input costs including fuel prices and copper price-linked payments, the company said.

Michilla produced 11,600 tonnes of copper cathodes in the second quarter, reaching 23,800 tonnes in the first six months of this year. The increase of 1,200 tonnes compared with last years first half was mainly due to higher grades, together with higher processing levels and better recoveries. Cash costs in the second quarter were 123.9 cents per pound, 3.8 cents above the previous quarter, the company said.

Cash costs averaged 122.0 cents per pound in the first six months of this year, below forecast but 8.8% above last years first half, reflecting higher costs at the underground mine and higher prices for fuel and explosives.

The company said that rail tonnages in the first half of this year were 3.8% lower than last years first half, mainly due to lower tonnages from Codelco. However, road tonnages were 3.1% higher than the first half of last year.

The water division continued to perform strongly, with volumes reaching 9.2 million cubic metres in the second quarter and 18.5 million cubic metres in the first half of this year. This represented an increase of 11.9% over last years first half as a result of increased consumption by both domestic and mining customers as well as higher volumes of water transported, the company said.