UPDATE 2-Chile Feb Copper Output Unharmed by Quake

SANTIAGO, March 30 (Reuters) - Chile, the world's No. 1 copper producer, said Tuesday its output of the red metal rose 3.8 percent to 394,742 tonnes in February from a year ago, reinforcing the view that a massive earthquake on Feb. 27 had no real impact on production.

The National Statistics Institute said the quake resulted in only minor damage to some mines and had marginal impact over output after some deposits halted operations briefly due to power disruptions.

Daily production in February, which had 28 days this year, was 14,097 tonnes. In January the South American country produced 13,678 tonnes a day.

The 8.8-magnitude quake and ensuing tsunamis killed hundreds and ravaged roads and cities across central-south Chile. The epicenter of the quake was hundreds of miles south of the country's top copper mines in the mineral-rich Atacama desert.

The country's molybdenum production fell 2.7 percent in February to 2,473 tonnes from the same month the previous year. Molybdenum is a metal used to strengthen steel and is mostly obtained as a byproduct of copper.

Chile's copper output fell 1.9 percent in January from the same period a year earlier, according to data released last month. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Editing by Alonso Soto and Jim Marshall)