This is interesting, hadn't heard of this angle for climate change. The production of metals needed to avert serious effects are becoming more difficult to access eg. Chile and copper.
Antofagasta's (ANTO:LSE) H1 profit more than doubled as a rise in copper prices boosted the miner but a water shortage in Chile prompted the company to cut its production guidance. Shares in the company however fell after the production guidance was cut. It has to be said that there is a risk-off tone in the markets today but the mining sector has been a notable underperformer.
The firm said copper production guidance will now be 710-740,000 tonnes from the previous 730-760,000 tonnes. This is due to adverse weather conditions at certain mines.
Its EBITDA for the six months to end June hit a record of $2.36bn, 132.7% higher than in the same period last year
First-half revenue rose 68% to reach $3.59bn as higher copper prices more than offset a decrease in the volume of copper sales.
The update said "The weather in central Chile during H1 saw unprecedentedly dry conditions, with almost no rainfall," said chief executive Iván Arriagada. "We have now had 12 years of drought, and the precipitation in 2021 has so far been less than in 2019, which itself was one of the driest years on record."
