Las Bambas copper production in the second half of the year is expected to increase the annual production target of Minmetals resources 56-590000 tons

SMM7: on Friday, Mineral Resources released its second-quarter production report, during which electrolytic copper production was 37500 tons, up 6 percent from the same period last year, and copper concentrate content was 99900 tons, down 7 percent from the same period last year.

Minmetals' large copper mine, Las Bambas, produced 99581 tons of copper concentrate in the second quarter of 2018, up 14 percent from the first quarter, due to a change in mining sequence in response to instability in local geotechnical conditions, as previously reported. Overall first-half production at, Las Bambas copper mine fell 15 per cent from a year earlier to 186637 tonnes.

Minmetals' 2018 production guidance target remains unchanged and is expected to produce 56-590000 tons of copper, including 70-80, 000 tons of copper from Sepon.

Las Bambas's 2018 guidance output remains 41-430000 tonnes of copper in copper concentrate, accompanied by a number of downward pressures to the lower limit of the production guidance range. It is expected that the output of Las Bambas copper mine will increase in the second half of the year, mainly due to the high ore grade and the increase in the treatment capacity of the concentrator compared with the first half of the year. It is expected that production in the second half of the year will continue to benefit from higher recovery rates in the first half of the year.

Las Bambas's expectation of producing more than 2 million tons of copper concentrate will remain unchanged during its first five years of operation, and the Group will continue to actively pursue a series of work plans to maintain this level of production in the future.

Despite the cost pressures associated with rising input costs, the C1 cost guidance range for, Las Bambas 2018 is still between $1.00 and $1.10 per pound. The company said, Las Bambas will continue to look for opportunities to improve operational efficiency and costs to maintain its position as one of the lowest cost copper mines in the world.

Introduction to Las Bambas

Las Bambas is a large long-lived copper mine located in Cotabambas, Aprimark region, Peru. it is owned by (Guoxin International Investment Co., Guoxing International Investment Co., Ltd. Ltd) (22.5%) and Citic Metals Co., Ltd. (CITIC Metal Co. Joint venture between Ltd) (15.0 per cent and MMG 62.5 per cent.

In December 2015, Las Bambas completed the production of the first copper concentrate as part of the mine's commissioning activities, and the first copper concentrate shipped to customers left the port of Matarani in January 2016.

Las Bambas completed construction in the first quarter of 2016 and continued to accelerate gradually while commercial production was achieved on 1 July 2016. Las Bambas is one of the largest copper mines in the world, with an annual production capacity of 51.1 million tons.

Las Bambas produced 453749 tons of copper concentrate in 2017 and is expected to produce 410000 to 430000 tons of copper concentrate in 2018. The project will make Peru one of the largest copper producers in the world and an important contributor to social investment and local employment in the region.

Lomas Bayas signed a labour contract in January 2018

Glencore's Chilean Las Bambas copper mine, which produced 454000 tons a year in 2017, avoided the threat of a strike in early 2018, and mine workers accepted a contract offer from operator Glencore Plc in January. the number of contracts to be renewed this year is the highest since 2010. Most of these contracts are in Chile and Peru.

LAS BAMBAS tax dispute

The MMG Group has received compensation for specific tax matters related to the pre-ownership of the Las Bambas project as at 31 July 2014.

The MMG Group has filed two formal charges with the British High Court for the enforcement of these compensation in the total amount of $31.5 million. The Court delivered its judgement on 29 June 2018. The judgment ruled that most of the claimed amount could be recovered from Glencore, subject to the completion of an appeal by the Peruvian tax Court on the matter. On 20 September 2018, further hearings will be held to consider other matters, including whether one or both of the parties will seek leave to appeal the decision.