INDUSTRIAL METALS / MINERALS

BHP Billiton sticks to copper production guidance

The global miner has reaffirmed its stance that its copper production will fall slightly in the June 2012 quarter, shored up by a strong increase in the current quarter.

MELBOURNE (Reuters)  - 

BHP Billiton reaffirmed on Wednesday that copper production would fall slightly in the year ending June 30, shored up by a strong increase in the current quarter.

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

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 a $4.5 billion expansion of Escondida, targeting copper output of more than 1.3 million tonnes a year by June 2015.

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