Post by Craig on May 30, 2003 0:56:31 GMT -5
Chile produced 386,584 tonnes of copper in April, up 7.4% on 359,841 tonnes in same-month last year reports BNamericas citing the country's INE statistics bureau as source. Of the total, 174,289 tonnes was in the form of concentrates, 13.8% more than in April 2002, and 197,575 tonnes was electrolytically refined, or 0.8% less than in the same month of last year, the INE said. The state agency did not give a reason for the increase in concentrates, but the giant Escondida mine in northern Chile's Region II, operated by Anglo-Australian resources group BHP Billiton, completed a major expansion of concentrate output late last year