Anglo American’s Copper Ore Output down 19%, Nickel Ore Output Grows 47% in 2016, SMM Reports

SHANGHAI, Feb. 4 (SMM) - Anglo American’s copper ore production totaled 577,100 tonnes in 2016, down 19% year-on-year, according to its 2016 annual output report. Nickel ore production was 44,500 tonnes, a rise of 47% year-on-year.

Copper Ore Output Unit: tonne (Cu content)

(1) Norte mine was excluded, which had been sold in September 2015.

Output at Los Bronces fell due to lower ore grade (0.69% vs 0.83%), SMM finds. Adverse weather in early 2016 delayed explore of high-grade section, and this dragged down average grade. Illegal labor action also disrupted operation. Consequently, output fell 9,000 tonnes in Q4 2016.

At Collahuasi, attributable production decreased by 5% in Q4 owning to owing to planned maintenance on the smaller Line 2 during November and December 2016. But total production grew 11% in 2016.

El Soldado’s production increased by 54% to 13,700 tonnes primarily due to higher grades and capacity.

Nickel Ore Output Unit: tonne (Ni content)

Barro Alto’s production was 35,500 tonnes, a 67% increase, despite an external electric power supply interruption in Q4. Production from Codemin was stable at 9,000 tonnes for the year.