PRODUCTION AND COSTS IN LINE WITH FULL YEAR GUIDANCE
"Controlling our costs in this inflationary environment and mitigating the impact of a stronger Chilean peso continue to be our focus, together with the safety and health of our employees and contractors.
"The copper market has been strong throughout the quarter, and we expect this to continue as structural supply and demand dynamics support a tight physical market." HIGHLIGHTS PRODUCTION
*Copper production in Q1 2023 at 145,900 tonnes was in line with guidance, 5.1% higher than in the same quarter in 2022 and 25.4% lower than in Q4 2022. The decrease from the previous quarter reflects the expected temporary reduction in throughput at Los Pelambres on lower water availability, and expected lower grades and scheduled maintenance at Centinela. Production is expected to increase through the rest of the year
*Gold production was 42,200 ounces in Q1 2023, 9.9% higher than in the same period in 2022 due to higher grades and 24.8% lower than in Q4 2022, mainly due the scheduled maintenance and expected lower grades at Centinela
*Molybdenum production in the quarter was 2,500 tonnes, 500 tonnes higher than in the same period in 2022 on higher grades at Los Pelambres and Centinela and 19.4% lower than in Q4 2022 mainly due to lower throughput at Los Pelambres
CASH COSTS
*Cash costs before by-product credits in Q1 2023 were
*By-products credits in Q1 2023 were 95c/lb reflecting higher realised prices, particularly for molybdenum
*Net cash costs in Q1 2023 were
GROWTH PROJECTS UPDATE
*At the end of Q1 2023, the Los Pelambres Desalination Plant and Concentrator Expansion projects, including design, procurement, construction and commissioning, were 96.2% complete
*At the desalination plant project, water has successfully been pumped through the entire water system although adverse sea conditions have resulted in some resequencing to finalise the marine works. The desalination plant is expected to come into production by the end of the second quarter of 2023
*Commissioning of the concentrator plant expansion will begin in the second quarter of 2023
*Progress continues on the engineering and pre-investment studies for the Centinela Second Concentrator project with a final decision expected by the end of the year
2023 GUIDANCE
*Guidance for the year is unchanged. Group copper production for the full year is expected to be 670-710,000 tonnes, increasing through the year
*Cash cost guidance before and after by-product credits is also unchanged at
*Capital expenditure guidance is also unchanged at
SUSTAINABILITY
*In Q1 2023, the Group achieved improvements in all safety indicators, including the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate at 0.35 down by 60% compared to Q1 2022
*The 2022 Sustainability Report was published in March and is available on the company's website. The report sets out our sustainability strategy, priorities and performance regarding the main material sustainability issues that affected our business and our stakeholders in 2022, a year in which we achieved a record safety performance and reduced our CO2 emissions intensity by 37%
OTHER
*The Government presented a revised draft mining royalty bill to
*A first draft of the new Chilean constitution is being drafted by an appointed
*Due to the continuing drought in the
*Zaldívar submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in 2018 which included an application to extend its water extraction and mining permits to 2029 (with decreasing activity levels in 2030-2031). Currently, Zaldívar is permitted to extract water and mine into 2025 and 2024, respectively. Zaldívar continues to work diligently with the authorities and consult with the local indigenous community. To ensure the continuity of the operation, in
GROUP PRODUCTION AND CASH COSTSYear to DateQ1Q4 20232022%20232022% Copper production kt 145.9 138.8 (5.1) 145.9 195.7 25.4 Copper sales kt 149.0 115.9 (28.6) 149.0 201.5 26.1 Gold production koz 42.2 38.4 (9.9) 42.2 56.1 24.8 Molybdenum production kt 2.5 2.0 (25.0) 2.5 3.1 19.4 Cash costs before by-product credits (1) $/lb 2.49 2.34 6.4 2.49 2.00 (24.5) Net cash costs (1) $/lb 1.54 1.75 12.0 1.54 1.27 (21.3)
(1) Cash cost is a non-GAAP measure used by the mining industry to express the cost of production in US dollars per pound of copper produced.
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