Chile produced 457,981 tonnes of copper in November, down 2 percent from the same month last year, as lower ore grades hit cathode output in the world's top producer of the red metal , the government said Thursday. Output was also down compared to October, when Chile produced 466,822 tonnes of the red metal, boosted by a recovery from harsh weather and labour unrest that have hit production this year.
"Problems with ore grades was the most important cause of the fall in copper production in November," the national statistics agency INE said in a statement. Chile produces around a third of the world's copper, but the industry has been hit by increased labour action prompted by record prices for the metal, energy woes and declining ore grades in ageing mines.
For the first 11 months of the year, copper output was down 3.8 percent from a year ago at 4,740,338 tonnes, the INE added. Output of molybdenum, a metal used to harden steel, rose 5.8 percent to 3,125 tonnes in November, compared with 2,954 tonnes during the same month last year. For the first eleven months of the year, the country's molybdenum output is up 13.6 percent at 37,667 tonnes.
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