ANTO Antofagasta Plc

By Jaime Llinares Taboada

Antofagasta PLC on Wednesday forecast lower copper production for 2022, reflecting a lack of rainfall and lower grades at its Centinela Concentrates operation.

The Chilean copper miner guided for production of 660,000-690,000 metric tons for next year. This would be down from the 2021 guidance of 710,000-740,000 tons, which was reiterated on Wednesday.

"Since we last reported, there has been no material rainfall at our operations and as we head into the summer months, we do not expect any rain until the next rainy season, which begins in June next year," Chief Executive Ivan Arriagada said.

Antofagasta said it expects 2021 net cash costs to be below the original guidance of $1.25 a pound.

The company also reported copper production of 181,100 tons for the third quarter, up 1.5% from the second quarter. Year to date, copper output is up 0.2% compared with the first nine months of 2020.

Write to Jaime Llinares Taboada at jaime.llinares@wsj.com; @JaimeLlinaresT

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 20, 2021 02:31 ET (06:31 GMT)

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