By Alex MacDonald
LONDON--Chilean copper producer Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) Monday
lowered its cash cost guidance by 10% for the current year due to
more favorable input costs, particularly a weaker Chilean peso and
lower oil price.
The U.K.-listed miner said it now expects net cash costs for
2015 to be $1.40 a pound, in line with 2014 net cash cost
performance.
The company also reaffirmed its full-year production target for
710,000 tons of copper, 250,000 troy ounces of gold and 8,000 tons
of molybdenum.
"The guidance we provided previously was based on assumptions we
made several months ago, but in light of the current outlook for
the peso and the oil price we have decided to rebase our
assumptions for 2015," Chief Executive Officer Diego Hernandez
said.
The revised net cash cost guidance is based on a Chilean peso to
U.S. dollar exchange rate of 620 Chilean pesos per dollar and a WTI
crude oil price of $50 a barrel. It also includes by-product
credits from the sale of gold at an average price of $1,300 a troy
ounce and molybdenum at $9.5 a pound.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com
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