Australian mining giant Newcrest up in copper, flat in gold: report

Australian mining powerhouse Newcrest Metals released their December quarter report on Monday, with their gold production remaining flat, while their copper output made gains over the period.

Newcrest produced 614,715 ounces of gold during the December quarter, down from 615,498 in the quarter previous, but managed to bring down production costs by a robust 4.9 percent per ounce over the last three months of the year.

Their profit margin on their gold output was also affected by lower global gold prices, and fell 11.1 percent for the quarter.

It wasn't all bad news for the mining giant, with copper production surging 6.1 percent for the quarter, with a total of 25,176 metric tonnes produced.

Their results were buoyed by the production from their Lihir mill reaching record levels, according to Newcrest chief executive, Sandeep Biswas.

"Newcrest achieved a significant milestone during the December quarter with Lihir reaching its target of an annualised mill throughput rate of 13.0mt, a record for the site," Biswas said.

"Efforts by all our operations contributed to a 5% decrease in Newcrest's All-In Sustaining Cost per ounce and an increase in production from our continuing operations."

At 1020 local time AEDT on Monday, Newcrest was trading at 21.33 Australian dollars per share, up 0.71 percent. Endit