Xstrata Copper expects increased production in Chile in 2009

SANTIAGO.- Xstrata Copper expects its copper production in Chile this year to expand in comparison to 2008, thanks in part to the successful performance of the Collahuasi Mine, of which the company is a shareholder.

Stefan Buys, the Chief of Operations for the northern division of Xstrata Copper in Chile, has said that the company is expecting production to be "slightly" higher, but declined to offer precise figures.

Buys added that, for the moment, the company has focused more on cost reduction.

Amidst an effort to overcome the world financial crisis, since January Xstrata Copper has slashed its cash cost for producing copper from US$ 1 to 90 cents per pound. At their high-cost mines, the company reduced the cost from US$ 1.80 to US$ 1.20 per pound.

Buys pointed out that the company is pushing exploration efforts forward and indicated that the Lomas Bayas Mine in Chile could hold promising reserves.

"We have obtained very good exploration results from a body of primary sulfur", he stated during an interview held at the end of the CRU/CESCO World Copper Conference, which took place in Santiago.