The company’s Prominent Hill copper-gold mine in South Australia produced 116,882 tonnes of copper and 118,333 ounces of gold in 2016, within guidance range of 115,000-125,000t of copper and 115,000-120,000oz of gold.

C1 costs of US74.1c per pound of payable copper were within guidance of 70-80c, with annual procurement savings of more than $A40 million realised.

Copper production at Prominent Hill is expected to be 105,000-115,000t this year and 90,000-100,000t for the next two years after that, around 30,000t higher than previous forecasts.

Gold production will be 115,000-125,000oz this year as copper production is prioritised. 

“The actions we’ve taken over the past 12 months in executing our strategy have positioned us strongly for the year ahead and beyond,” OZ CEO Andrew Cole said. 

“As we head into 2017 OZ Minerals is leaner and more agile with diverse opportunities ahead.”

The Carrapteena decline continues to advance in line with plan, and the feasibility study remains on track for release by the end of March, with funding options to be assessed early in the June quarter.

OZ reported a 29% jump in cash on hand to $656 million. 

Outside Carrapateena, OZ has a number of agreements in place over early stage properties, the largest being the $36 million deal with Cassini Resources at the West Musgrave nickel-copper project.

Work on the scoping study will ramp up this quarter.

“With a further two earn-in agreements signed in the last quarter we now have six separate joint ventures in place with experienced exploration companies to identify potential new opportunities,” Cole said.

The company spent $6.7 million on exploration during the December quarter.

Shares in OZ dropped by 1.7% to $9, after reaching a near five-year high of $9.32 on Friday.