MMG Limited (MMG) today released its production result for the first quarter of 2023, producing 68,954 tonnes of copper and 30,650 tonnes of zinc for the three months to 31 March 2023.
MMG Interim CEO, Liangang Li said the Company’s results in the first quarter were impacted by the safety incident at Dugald River and social unrest in Peru which limited the flow of inbound and outbound logistics.
“The first quarter of 2023 was a difficult one for our business. The loss of our Barminco colleagues at Dugald River has had a deep and lasting impact on our site and the broader MMG teams. We have since placed significant focus on supporting our site team as we worked to safely recommence operations at Dugald River on 21 March 2023, following regulatory approval.”
“Production at Las Bambas was impacted by widespread protest activity in Peru which caused shortages of critical supplies and our team has worked tirelessly to mitigate impacts as much as possible. Roadblocks were removed on 11 March and since then, we have returned to full capacity and recommenced concentrate transport, with our focus now on reducing the stocks held on site,” Mr Li added.
Mr Li said that while the first three months of 2023 have been challenging, the Company continues to focus on driving positive momentum across its development projects.
“Despite a challenging first quarter, we are continuing to place significant effort on progressing our growth projects to drive higher production volumes and to secure a strong future for our assets. Subject to reaching comprehensive agreement with the Huancuire community, the development of the Chalcobamba deposit is targeted to commence in the second half of 2023.”
“Construction of our Kinsevere expansion project is progressing well with civil works starting in early March and earthworks for the new tailings dam are also in progress. We expect that first cobalt production will be achieved later this year with first copper cathode production from sulphide ore in 2024.
“Pleasingly, we also welcomed the completion of the Dugald River solar farm in February with commercial operations achieved on 21 April 2023. This project will provide immediate energy savings in addition to driving a reduction in the mine’s carbon footprint.” Annual copper production is maintained in the range of 305,000 and 353,000 tonnes, however is subject to continuing supply, people and logistics access at Las Bambas.
Zinc production is now expected to be in the range of 190,000 and 215,000 tonnes due to the extended production suspension and ramp up at Dugald River.
Please download the full copy of the First Quarter 2023 Production Report here.
go to
https://www.mmg.com/reports/2023-first-quarter-production-result/ |
