Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Chile To Increase Copper Output

Chile will increase its copper output to 6.3 million metric tons by 2015, from the 5.3 million it produced in 2008, state copper commission Cochilco said Wednesday.
The increase is due mostly to a projected 34% increase in the country's output of copper contained in concentrates, which will offset a 7.3% drop in cathode production, Cochilco said in a report.

The higher output comes from expansion projects at several of state copper giant Corporacion Nacional del Cobre's divisions as well as expansions at Anglo American PLC's (AAUK) Los Bronces, Antofagasta PLC's Los Pelambres, BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP) Escondida mines and the Xtrata PLC-Anglo joint venture Collahuasi.

In addition, Cochilco sees Antofagasta's Esperanza and Pan Pacific Copper's Caserones and Xtrata's El Morro projects coming on line during the period.
Cochilco sees $34.1 billion in gold and copper projects for 2009-13, with $30.3 billion of the total earmarked for production.

Source: Dow Jones

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