First Quantum copper output up 17% in Q1
miningweekly.com
By: Liezel Hill
23rd April 2009
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX- and LSE-listed First Quantum Minerals produced 88 600 t of copper in the first three months of 2009, 17% more than a year earlier.
However, the company said stockpiles of copper concentrate jumped to about 37 800 t by the end of March, compared with 16 400 t at the end of the December quarter, because of higher copper production at First Quantum's mines, combined with smelting capacity constraints in Zambia.
Of the total concentrate stockpile, 30 500 t was at First Quantum's Kansanshi mine, in Zambia.
“With copper prices low during the quarter, it was decided to wait until local smelting capacity and copper prices improved, rather than export and incur the high export charges,” First Quantum said.
The firm plans to send the existing surplus stockpiles to all the Zambian smelters over the next two quarters, after which, it expects that stockpiles will be brought back to normal levels.
First Quantum mines copper in Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritania.
The company maintained its full-year production estimate of 380 000 t of copper. |
