BASE METALS

Record quarter at Dugald River

MMG’s new Dugald River zinc mine in Queensland had a record quarter, but the Las Bambas mine in Peru could miss guidance if road blockades continue.

Staff reporter
Record quarter at Dugald River

Dugald River produced 47,296 tonnes of zinc in zinc concentrate, 32% above the previous quarter, as its ramp-up continued.

Las Bambas and Kinsevere in the Democratic Republic of Congo delivered record quarterly mill throughput rates.

Las Bambas produced 96,990t of copper in copper concentrate, 15% above the prior quarter, due to uninterrupted operations for most of the quarter and improved performance across the mine and the mill.

"Despite community related disruptions at Las Bambas, core mining operations performed strongly during the quarter," MMG CEO Geoffrey Gao said.

Since September 22, road access to Las Bambas has been disrupted by a series of road blocks between 50-250 kilometres from the mine in Cusco.

On October 15, the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency and efforts by the authorities to restore access to the road are currently underway.

Assuming unrestricted access resumes in the coming days, 2019 copper production is expected to be marginally below the previous guidance range of 385,000-405,000t. 

Group production for the quarter was 115,864t of copper and 68,628t of zinc.

Guidance for 2019 is 450,000-455,000t of copper and 250,000-270,000t of zinc.

MMG shares last traded in Australia last month at A$5. The stock started the year above HK$3 in Hong Kong but was trading at $1.61 today, valuing it at nearly $13 billion (A$2.43 billion).

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