Newmont is maintaining its previously announced 2011 outlook for copper production of 190 million to 220 million pounds.
The U.S. consumes one-fifth of global copper production, primarily in wiring and plumbing.
The company cut its full-year copper production outlook in response to continued disruptions in its cash-cow, the Grasberg mine.
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Attributable copper production was 108 million pounds, down from 152 million pounds during the first nine months of 2011.
Since that date, the population has tripled, and both the real price of copper and copper production have fallen by half.
This sparked an increase in copper production, but that quickly left the market flooded when the telecom industry fell into a rut.
Copper production tapered off, totaling 39.4 million pounds in the quarter compared to 41.4 million pounds during the third quarter of 2011.
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Virga said if the Grasberg strike is extended again, an additional 15 to 24 million pounds of copper production could be lost.
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However, that was offset by copper production from its Los Bronces mine increasing by 31%, with the mine's expansion contributing 54, 100 tonnes.
In an operational per share basis, the self-professed global leader in copper production earned 74 cents, beating the consensus call by 4 cents.
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Newmont reported a year-on-year decline in gold and copper production, although the company said it is on track to meet its targets for 2011.
The company is still dealing with the problem of low-quality ore from the mine, which forced the company to significantly reduce its copper production outlook for the year.
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Copper production, the second largest contributor to profits, rose by just 2% to 172, 900 tonnes, as troubles continued at its Collahuasi mine in Chile - including with low ore grades.
But Chief Executive Richard Adkerson of Freeport said the move would pay dividends for his shareholders, while Phelps said the combined company s copper production would grow 25% over the next three years.
Zambia's unwise nationalisation of the mines in 1969 (as advised by the best of British development economists) may have contributed to declining copper production but population pressures, shifts in the terms of trade since the 1970s and a burden of debt to the West that originated then in recycled petro-dollars have contributed massively to the impoverishment of the country.
Barclays believes that copper mine production will be better in 2012, but cautions that nothing is set in stone.
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With weather delays, poor deposit grades, worker strikes and mill problems, Macquarie forecasted at the start of 2011 that roughly 700, 000 tons of copper mine production could be lost to disruptions.
Similar things happened in the copper market as earthquakes in Chile choked production and inflated copper prices worldwide.
Bracemac-McLeod is expected to produce roughly 100, 000 tons of zinc and 11, 000 tons of copper annually once production begins.
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All major copper mining companies are currently ramping up production to cash-in on rising copper prices.
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That secondary rock has become exhausted and the production of copper was falling, he said.
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In terms of copper, Barrick saw production slide to 112 million pounds, from 140 a year ago.
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Zambia's production of copper recovered to about 427, 000 tonnes in 2004.
Dioxin, though, is usually formed as a byproduct in processes such as copper smelting, paper-production and the making of pesticides and chlorine-containing organic chemicals.
In 2012 it produced 5 million ounces of gold and 143 million pounds of copper, and it forecasts production of 4.8 million to 5.1 million ounces of gold this year, with 150 million to 170 million pounds of copper.
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But the company has been facing difficulties in the recent past with lower quality copper ore, resulting in reduced production levels for the company.
The performance in Q was better than in the comparable period in 2011 due to higher average realized prices as well as higher production and sales of copper, gold, and molybdenum.
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Under present copper price assumptions, Barrick reduced its production expectations and hence profitability over the life of the mine.
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