Chile`s Codelco, the world`s largest copper producer, said on...

Chile`s Codelco, the world`s largest copper producer, said on Tuesday copper output for the first half of the year fell 5.7% amid labour protests and lower ore grades.

Codelco chief executive Jose Pablo Arellano said copper output fell to 804,000 tonnes compared with 853,000 t in the January-June period last year, including output from the 49%-owned El Abra mine.

During the six-month period, Codelco said the amount of money it sent to government coffers, its net profit plus tax and a percentage earmarked for the military, was a record US$4.670 billion compared with US$4.625 billion in the same period last year.

Arellano also said he saw copper prices staying solid in the coming months amid continued strong demand.

Copper traded around $3.40/lb in New York on Tuesday, five times more than average levels in 2003. Codelco said it produced 13,600 t of molybdenum in the period, roughly in line with the 13,700 t in the first six months of 2006.

(August 14 Reuters)