Glencore Xstrata produced 425,800 mt of copper in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2013, up 32.2% year on year and up 3.1% quarter on quarter, the company said Tuesday.
Copper output over January-December 2013 totaled 1.5 million mt, up 26% year on year, driven by strong growth in African Copper, Collahuasi (Chile), Antapaccay (Peru) and Ernest Henry (Australia).
Output at the African copper gained 43% year on year to 398,600 mt as the key expansion projects, Katanga and Mutanda, successfully grew production, both reaching 200,000 mt/year capacity at the end of 2013.
Collahuasi's production rose to 195,600 mt, up 58% year on year, led by a surge of 91% in second-half 2013 from H1 2013 as production ramped up following the SAG mill restart and a return to higher grades.
The Antapaccay and Ernest Henry projects are progressing well. The company's zinc output was 336,800 mt in Q4, down 16.1% year on year but up 1.4% quarter on quarter.
As for lead, the Q4 output fell to 81,100 mt, down 0.7% year on year but up 0.5% quarter on quarter.
For 2013, Glencore Xstrada's zinc output was 1.4 million mt, down 9% year on year, while lead output stood at 315,000 mt, down 2% from 2012.
"The reduction relates to expected declines at Brunswick and Perseverance as they reached the end of their mine lives (last production in June 2013)," the company said. Brunswick and Perseverance are in Australia.
Zinc production is, however, expected to return to growth in 2014, originating mainly from Australia.
Q4 NICKEL OUTPUT FALLS 18% ON YEAR, FERROCHROME RISES 22%
The company's nickel output fell 18% year on year to 22,800 mt in Q4, but was up 1.3% quarter on quarter.
Total output in 2013 was 98,400 mt, down 4% year on year as the former XNA (Australia) and Falcondo (Dominican Republic) operations have been placed on care and maintenance, in response to low nickel prices, offset by a record year of production from Murrin Murrin (Australia) and Raglan (Canada).
The 2013 production volume includes 1,400 mt from Koniambo (New Caledonia), which is in the early stages of ramping up production.
Meanwhile, the company produced 938,000 mt of ferrochrome in 2013, up 32% year on year on higher utilization of the smelters and furnaces and the successful commissioning of the Tswelopele pelletizing plant in South Africa.
For Q4, ferrochrome output stood at 345,000 mt, up 21.5% year on year and up 3.9% quarter on quarter.
