[miningmx.com] — COPPER producer Metorex, the takeover target of China’s Jinchuan group, said on Wednesday that first-half copper output rose 1% compared with the preceding six-months, while production of cobalt fell 6%.
Metorex said production of copper during the six months to the end of June rose 1% to 26,562 tonnes, while the production of cobalt fell 6% to 1,890 tonnes.
Copper output at its flagship Ruashi mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rose 7% during the six months.
“Ruashi copper production for the six months was in line with plan other than for grid power interruptions in the DRC during May and June 2011,” the company said in a statement.
Output at its Chibuluma mine was marginally lower, while copper and cobalt production from Sable was down due to a lack of third party ore supply.
“This has now largely been restored,” it said.
Metorex, with a busy project pipeline and potential for other brownfields expansion, seeks to more than double its current annual copper production of around 50,000 tonnes.
