Chilean miner Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) has shown resilience amid the country\u2019s covid-19 crisis, delivering copper volumes in the second quarter that were 5% ahead of expectations, but 8.4% lower than the previous period.<\/p>\n
In the three months to June 30, the company churned out 177,700 tonnes of copper<\/a>, compared to 194,000 in the first quarter, mainly due to expected lower grades from the Centinela mine.<\/p>\n The fact Antofagasta operated with just two-thirds of its workforce during the period, also weighed on production. <\/p>\n First half copper production totalled 371,700 tonnes, in line with expectations and 4% lower than in the same period last year.<\/p>\n Gold production fell by 29% to 46,000 ounces compared with the first-quarter. For the first six months of the year, gold output decreased 26% to 111,100 ounces.<\/p>\n Chief executive officer, Iv\u00e1n Arriagada, said the company had managed to expand activities in areas initially restricted, such as mine development and maintenance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe we can continue to operate at current levels until the end of the year, assuming no further covid-19-related restrictions are imposed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Work on the Los Pelambres expansion, one of the many global copper projects delayed by coronavirus-related reasons, is expected to resume this quarter, Antofagasta said.<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 company kept production targets for 2020 at between 725,000 and 755,000 of copper, at a net cash cost of $1.20 per pound of copper.<\/p>\n The miner, majority-owned by the Luksic family, one of Chile\u2019s wealthiest, is facing labour challenges at some of its operations. <\/p>\n Unions at its Zald\u00edvar mine recently claimed that workers risked their lives to maintain production at pre-pandemic levels. They cited a mounting number of confirmed coronavirus cases among the mine\u2019s workforce as the main reason of their discontent.<\/p>\n They also recently voted in favour of a walk-off, rejecting a new contract offer which they said had stripped them of current benefits.<\/p>\n Antofagasta and unions at Zald\u00edvar and Centinela have entered into mediation with the government to avoid a strike.<\/p>\n Major copper miners operating in Chile, the world’s top producer of the metal, have largely maintained output even as measures to fight the spread of covid-19 have devastated other parts of its economy.<\/p>\n In recent weeks, however, a spike in coronavirus cases in the South American nation has prompt top miners to review plans.<\/p>\n State-owned Codelco, the world\u2019s no. 1 copper miner, has halted some expansion projects<\/a> and pulled back on production.<\/p>\n BHP (ASX, LON, NYSE: BHP) announced it would scale down activity at its small Cerro Colorado mine.<\/p>\n Wood Mackenzie estimates that about 700,000 tonnes of new copper supply has been pushed out of 2022 expectations by delays, compared to previous forecasts.<\/p>\nLabour issues<\/strong><\/h2>\n