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MMG's copper production up 109% in second quarter as Las Bambas returns to full capacity

Kitco Media
By Vladimir Basov
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Updated
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(Kitco News) - Globally diversified mining company MMG reported last week that its Q2 2023 total copper production (copper cathode plus copper concentrate) was 92,847 tonnes, up 109% compared to Q2 2022.

The company said the increase in copper output was due to a 153% production increase at Las Bambas, with mining operations at full capacity following the return of social stability and the highest quarterly milling throughput since 2019, driven by various operational improvements, including optimization of the third ball mill.

However, MMG noted that Kinsevere's copper production decreased by 7% compared to the prior corresponding period mainly due to unstable power supply from the national grid, as well as a planned shutdown for the installation work of the cobalt plant.

MMG’s total zinc production of 49,826 tonnes (Dugald River 36,474 tonnes and Rosebery 13,352 tonnes) was 7% below the prior corresponding period with Dugald River’s focus remaining on safe ramp-up of operations following its restart in late March, after the fatal incident in February. Rosebery zinc concentrate production was higher in the second quarter.

The company also said that in line with prior guidance, its full year zinc production guidance is expected to be between 190,000 and 215,000 tonnes, while full year copper production guidance is maintained at between 305,000 and 353,000 tonnes.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, MMG is a mid-tier, global producer of base metals including copper and zinc. The company is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx: 1208) and operates and develops copper, zinc, gold, silver and lead deposits across Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Peru. The major shareholder of the company is China Minmetals.

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Vladimir Basov

Vladimir (PhD, MEng in Mining) is a professional mining engineer, scientist and analyst that has more than 20 years of practical in-field and research experience. He is particularly interested in collecting, processing baseline data and writing insightful data-driven mining industry analytics, articles, statistical and research reports.

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