Grupo Mexico reported a 47% increase in net earnings for the 1st quarter on a 5.2% increase in copper production, but subsidiary Arizona-based Asarco saw a 13.5% decrease in production, blamed on lower grade ores at the Ray and Mission mines, according to Mineweb.com.
Phoenix-based Freeport McMoRan is the world's largest publicly traded copper company [photo credit Freeport]. They announced a 57% increase in income for the quarter:
Net income attributable to common stock for first-quarter 2011 was $1.5 billion, $1.57 per share, compared to net income of $897 million, $1.00 per share, for first-quarter 2010. Consolidated sales from mines for first-quarter 2011 totaled 926 million pounds of copper, 480 thousand ounces of gold and 20 million pounds of molybdenum, compared to 960 million pounds of copper, 478 thousand ounces of gold and 17 million pounds of molybdenum for first-quarter 2010.
Consolidated sales from mines for the year 2011 are expected to approximate 3.9 billion pounds of copper, 1.6 million ounces of gold and 73 million pounds of molybdenum, including 965 million pounds of copper, 365 thousand ounces of gold and 17 million pounds of molybdenum for second quarter 2011.