SÃO PAULO — Miners in Chile produced 464,300 tonnes of copper in September, up 6 percent from 438,100 tonnes in the same month last year, pushing the year-to-date output to 3.96 million tonnes vs. 3.8 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2011.

Production by BHP Billiton Plc’s Escondida jumped 48 percent to 103,900 tonnes in September and Anglo American Sur SA’s output soared 85 percent to 36,200 tonnes, according to Chile’s copper commission, Cochilco.

But Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco), the world’s biggest copper producer, saw production fall 6.7 percent to 138,900 tonnes due to a 14.9-percent decline to 65,000 tonnes at two of the company’s main projects, Chuquicamata y Radomiro Tomic and El Teniente, although production by Codelco’s Andina operation rose 3 percent to 21,300 tonnes.

Los Pelambres, controlled by Antofagasta Plc, posted a 10-percent decrease to 31,600 tonnes in September, while production at Collahuasi, owned by Anglo American Plc (44 percent), Xstrata Plc (44 percent) and other investors, fell 43.5 percent to 19,800 tonnes.
 
A version of this article was first published by AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin.