DJ Phelps Dodge Trims Investment On Low Copper Prices-Paper
2001-04-06 12:06 (New York)
SANTIAGO (Dow Jones)--Phelps Dodge Corp. (PD) has trimmed investment plans to
between $325 and $350 million, from $450 million several months ago, as weaker
than expected global copper demand cuts into prices, Chilean newspaper El
Mercurio reported Friday.
Copper prices have fallen to around $0.75 per pound in recent months.
Phelps Dodge Chairman and CEO Steven Whisler told El Mercurio that every one
cent decrease in copper prices reduces company cash flows by $24 million,
adding that copper prices have fallen $0.10 in recent months.
"This will have a significant impact on our way of thinking and on our
plans," he said.
The mining company will concentrate Chilean investment on improving output at
the El Abra mine, Whisler said. Phelps Dodge owns 51% of El Abra, while Chile's
state-owned mining company Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile, or Codelco,
owns the remaining 49%.
Whisler forecast that El Abra will produce 230,000 tons of copper this year,
while Phelps Dodge's 80%-owned Candelaria mine will turn out 217,000 tons.
-Andrea Welsh, Dow Jones Newswires; 562-460-8547; chile@dowjones.com |
