The company said it continues to engage with authorities and communities to remove the remaining road access restrictions. Given the outstanding repair work and the testing required for a safe restart, which includes working with the relevant local regulator, the company expected the operation of the pipeline to resume by the end of June.

During the shutdown, the processing plant has been operating at lower rates of throughput, with concentrates being stockpiled at the plant. These will be transferred to the port between July and October using the spare capacity of the pipeline.

Antofagasta said copper production for the group is expected to be at the bottom end of the original 660,000- to 690,000-metric-ton guidance. growth.