European copper miner Atalaya Mining has set a production guidance range of 45 000 t to 46 500 t for 2019, which is seen as a transitional year, given the commissioning of the plant expansion in mid-2019, which will increase production in 2020.
The miner, which is implementing a 15-million-tonne-a-year expansion project at its Proyecto Riotinto mine, in Spain, produced 42 114 t in 2018, compared with 37 164 t in 2017. The 2018 production performance exceeded its October guidance of 39 000 t to 41 000 t.
Fourth-quarter copper production increased to 11 172 t, which is a quarterly record.
The Proyecto Riotinto expansion project will be commissioning in mid-2019, leading to an increase in production to between 50 000 t and 55 000 t in 2020, the dual-listed company reported on Tuesday.
Atalaya said that additional mining equipment was available on site in anticipation of the increase in production scheduled for the second half of 2019.