BHP: Escondida Copper Output To Fall 10%-15% On Low Grades Wednesday July 23rd, 2008 / 0h45 SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- Copper production at BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP.AU) Escondida mine in Chile, the largest in the world, will fall 10% to 15% in the financial year that began on July 1 from the previous year because of lower ore grades. Production is then expected to continue at similar, lower levels to the 2008-09 financial year level, BHP said. The mine produced 1.22 million tons of copper in the year ended June 30, up 6.1% on the year. A drop of 10% to 15% would equate to a drop in production of around 120,000 to 180,000 tons of refined copper. BHP owns 57.5% in the mine, Rio Tinto owns 30% and a Japanese consortium a further 10%. Large operations struggling to maintain output levels because of falling ore grades have been key in copper's tightening supply and demand balance that has helped keep prices above the $8,000/ton on the London Metal Exchange. "The Escondida resource base presents numerous options for delivering production growth in future years, which are currently under study," BHP said in its second quarter production report. -By Elisabeth Behrmann, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8235-2965; [email protected] Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=QA5Or9%2BdFTmIOp%2FOWRu4fw%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
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