Copper industry's operational costs up 20% in Q1 - Chile, Regional

Operational costs at Chile's 11 largest copper producers during Q1 saw an average increase of 20% year-on-year, the country's copper mining research institute Cesco said in a report.
The largest increase was registered by Anglo American Chile, the local subsidiary of the London-based diversified resources group Anglo American (LSE: AAL), which posted a 78% rise compared to the first quarter of 2009 to US$561mn.
The increase was mainly explained by a substantial change in the comparison parameters in the year-over-year period as the company started sales and distribution of its attributable copper output from the Collahuasi copper mine - in which it holds a 44% stake - in April last year, according to the report.
Canadian miner Barrick Gold's (NYSE: ABX) Zaldivar copper operation saw the largest decrease in operational costs, down 15% to US$86mn.
Revenues and Ebitda registered by copper producers all over the world grew by 56% and 103%, respectively, in the first quarter year-on-year, in line with the 111% increase registered by the red metal's average price in the period.
The revenues of copper producers in Chile were higher than those registered by international companies, mainly because of the latter's more diversified portfolio, according to the report.
Meanwhile, global copper production decreased 4.8% in Q1, while Chile saw 3.1% growth in output mainly driven by Collahuasi, which increased production by 18.5% in the period.
By Victor Henriquez