Lundin Mining declared that its fourth quarter copper output was up by 10%. The company produced 27,488 tonnes of copper in the final quarter of 2011.
The rise in copper production was helped by the Neves Corvo mine in Portugal. The production of zinc also rose 15 % with the company producing 27,053 tonnes.
In the last quarter of 2010 Lundin Mining had produced 24,908 tonnes of copper. Paul Conibear, the chief executive officer of Lundin Mining said in a statement that copper production for the quarter from their own operations exceeded expectations while zinc and lead approximated latest guidance.
Mr Conibear added that the Neves-Corvo mine finished the year very strongly. Both Zinkgruvan and Neves-Corvo continued to mine and mill record tonnes with an improving safety record. Their staff has responded very well to issues experienced earlier in the year, providing an excellent basis heading into 2012 he said.
The full year production of copper fell by 5% to 75,877 tonnes. This was predominantly due to production related issues at the Neves Corvo mine in the earlier part of 2011. Lundin Mining is now operating mines in Portugal, Sweden, Spain, and Ireland. It is producing copper, zinc, lead and nickel as a diversified base metals mining company.