Proyecto Riotinto
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Copper miner Atalaya Mining has posted a 54% increase in its first-quarter profit, on the back of stronger copper prices and an increase in concentrate volumes sold.
After-tax profit increased from €5.7-million, or 4.8c a share, in the first quarter of 2017, to €8.8-million, or 6.5c a share, in the quarter ended March 2018, the miner reported on Thursday.
Revenue doubled to €52.7-million, from €25.6-million a year earlier, as concentrate sales from the Proyecto Rio Tinto mine, in Spain, increased by 22% to 48 682 t and the realised copper price increased from $2.48/lb to $3.03/lb.
Operating costs, however, also increased to €36.4-million, from €11.5-million a year earlier, driven by higher mining and processing variable costs. Cash costs rose to $2.27/lb payable copper in the first quarter of 2018, compared with $1.64/lb payable copper in the same period last year.
The Riotinto mine, which is being expanded to a capacity of 15-million tonnes a year, produced 9 441 t of copper in the quarter, which was a 7.2% increase on the same period of 2017.
Atalaya has a copper guidance of 37 000 t to 40 000 t for 2018.
"This quarter's financial results continue to reflect the steady improvement in performance of the Riotinto plant. This gives us confidence that the expansion project, which is well advanced, together with Proyecto Touro, will provide Atalaya with the growth it needs to establish itself as a midtier copper producer in Europe," CEO Alberto Lavandeira commented.
Atalaya recently released the prefeasibility study results of the Touro project, which will produce 30 000 t/y of copper and 70 000 oz/y of silver in concentrate. The study estimated a net present value, at an 8% discount, of $180-million, using a long-term copper price of $3/lb.