Copper output at Chile’s Codelco drops to 5-year low in 2013

 

Fri Mar 28, 2014 11:49am EDT

SANTIAGO, March 28 (Reuters) – World No. 1 copper producer Codelco’s output fell to a five-year low and its profit dropped by half in 2013 as dwindling ore grades and lower metal prices hit the state-owned Chilean miner.

The company produced roughly 1.62 million tonnes of the red metal last year, a 1.5 percent drop from 2012 due to lower ore grades, harder rock and trickier production in deeper deposits.