JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Spanish copper miner Atalaya Mining produced 8 805 t of copper in concentrate in the first quarter of 2017, which is in line with its output of the previous quarter.
The company is one of Europe’s newest copper producers and operates the Proyecto Riotinto openpit mine, where commercial production was declared in February 2016.
The miner processed 2.2-million tonnes of ore in the first three months of 2017. This compares with 2-million tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 4 048 t in the first quarter of 2016.
Revenue increased from €4.9-million in the first quarter of 2016 to €25.6-million in the period under review, resulting in Atalaya posting profit of €5.2-million, compared with a loss of €3.3-million in the prior-year period.
"The first quarter of 2017 was strong both financially and operationally as Proyecto Riotinto continues to perform well. The combination of falling operating costs and improved levels of production and recovery reflect our ongoing on-site efficiencies,” CEO Alberto Lavandeira commented in a statement.
Atalaya’s copper production guidance for 2017 is 34 000 t to 40 000 t.
Meanwhile, permitting was initiated at Proyecto Touro, in north-west Spain, and Lavandeira said that the company was progressing its in-fill and step-out drilling programmes.
Atalaya exercised its option to acquire an initial 10% stake in Proyecto Touro in February, based on a staged earn-in process to acquire 80% of the brownfield copper project.
“In an environment of declining new global copper supply, Atalaya continues to advance its projects and remains a long term option on the copper price,” he said.