Ex-OZMin assets hit record copper production January 28, 2010 -...

Ex-OZMin assets hit record copper production January 28, 2010 - 11:59AM


The Chinese-owned company that controls many of the assets formerly owned by OZ Minerals Ltd says it achieved record copper production last year.

Minerals and Metals Group, the local offshoot of China Minmetals Non-ferrous Co Ltd (Minmetals), unveiled its quarterly production report on Thursday.

In April, 2009, Minmetals was given approval to buy most of OZ Minerals' assets for $1.21 billion after the Australian miner became mired in debt.

MMG, based in Melbourne, was created at the time to manage the assets.

"MMG achieved record copper production in the December quarter and annually for 2009," the company said on Thursday.

"Copper metal in concentrate production for the group was 75 per cent higher with 10,401 tonnes on the December 2008 quarter and 39 per cent higher with 33,665 tonnes for the year," it told the stock exchange.

Total ore mined in 2009 was about 12.4 million tonnes, compared to 10.98 million tonnes in the previous 12 months.

But zinc, lead and silver production fell sharply due to the failure of the transport pipeline at the Century mine, which resulted in a 79-day concentrate production shutdown and forced a reduced mine plan to be implemented.

The amount of zinc produced in 2009 fell 40.5 per cent to 439,046 tonnes, silver production fell 47.4 per cent to 5.46 million ounces, while lead production dropped 51.8 per cent, to 47.4 tonnes.

Annual gold production dipped slightly to 167,292 ounces, down from 171,502 ounces in 2008.

MMG chief, and the former head of OZ Minerals, Andrew Michelmore, said the results delivered on the business's aim to focus on copper production to take advantage of better price forecasts.

A company spokeswoman said MMG, which is not listed on the Australian sharemarket, was releasing its production data because it had promised at the time of acquiring the OZ Minerals assets a high standard of corporate governance and open communication with stakeholders.

Meanwhile, MMG also released a statement saying its Century operation in Queensland had shut down concentrate production on Thursday in preparation for Tropical Cyclone Olga.

The company said the transfer vessel, used to move concentrates from the port to ships, ceased loading on Sunday as part of a contingency plan.