The London-listed miner, which has been hurt by a steep fall in prices, declining ore grades, unfavourable weather and environmental protests, produced 303,400 tonnes of copper in the first half, down 12.9 percent from a year earlier and below analysts' forecasts.
It cut its full-year copper production guidance to 665,000 from 695,000 tonnes due to the delayed commissioning and subsequent ramp-up of its Antucoya project stemming from a technical issue.
"Construction of Antucoya was completed on budget but we have experienced some commissioning issues on the crusher circuit which means we now expect first production to be delayed until the end of the first quarter," the company said in a statement.
Torrential downpours in a desert region of northern Chile and environmental protests hit its first-quarter output, forcing it to reduce its annual production forecast by about 15,000 tonnes earlier this year.
The firm is focusing on its $1.9 billion (1.2 billion pounds) Antucoya greenfield project and other brownfield expansions to cope with a fall in production due to aging mines and declining copper grades.
(Editing by Mark Potter and Jason Neely)
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