SANTIAGO – Chilean state copper company Codelco reported on Friday first quarter pre-tax profits of $537-million, a slight increase over the previous year, even as ore grades continued to decline at the miner's aging deposits.
The world´s top copper miner produced 446 300 t of copper in the first quarter, according to state copper commission Cochilco statistics released earlier this month, marking a 7.2% increase over the previous year.
The company on Friday said ore grades had nonetheless declined 2.7% versus the same period in 2017.