Reuters reported that BHP Billiton reaffirmed that copper production would fall slightly in the year ending June 30th 2012 shored up by a strong increase in the current quarter.

BHP said in slides prepared for a presentation to investors in Australia by its base metals president Mr Peter Beaven that copper production guidance was unchanged with a substantial uplift forecast in the June 2012 quarter.

BHP produced 1.14 million tonnes of copper in the year to June 2011 hit by lower ore grades at the Escondida copper mine in Chile. In February, BHP and Rio Tinto approved USD 4.5 billion expansion of Escondida, targeting copper output of more than 1.3 million tonnes a year by June 2015.

Source - Reuters

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