Copper production at Codelco, Chile's State-owned copper mining company, rose 2% in the first half of 2018 to 813 000 t, CEO Nelson Pizarro said on Friday.
The world´s top copper miner benefited from rising prices, posting a pretax profit of $1.235-billion in the same period, up 25% year-on-year, with a production cost per pound of copper of $1.38, an increase of 4% year-on-year, Pizarro said.
Total production of copper including from red metal mined in its other holdings totalled 875 000 t.
"Without a doubt the result was influenced by the copper price and better management," he told journalists in Santiago.
The company expects to produce around 1.7-million tonnes of copper in the whole of 2018, he added, and will invest $39-billion over the next 10 years to extend the shelf life of its aging facilities.
Pizarro said he was confident global demand for copper would remain robust despite short-term volatility caused by the US-China trade war.