Antofagasta plc reported group production results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2016. For the quarter, the company reported copper production of 205.5 kt against 180.6 kt a year ago. Gold production was 91.1 koz against 70.3 koz a year ago. Molybdenum production was 2.0 kt against 1.9 kt a year ago. Copper production in fourth quarter of 2016 was 13.8% higher than the previous quarter with strong performances from Centinela, Zaldívar and Los Pelambres driven by higher grades and increased throughput. Gold production fourth quarter of 2016 increased 29.7%, due to higher grades and throughput at Centinela.

For the year, the company reported copper production of 709.4 kt against 630.3 kt a year ago. Gold production was 270.9 koz against 213.9 koz a year ago. Molybdenum production was 7.1 kt against 10.1 kt a year ago. Group copper production for the full year increased by 12.5%, driven by higher copper production at Centinela and additional production coming from the Group's new Antucoya and Zaldívar operations, partly offset by the closure of Michilla at the end of 2015. For the full year gold production was 26.6% higher than in 2015, again reflecting better grades and throughput at Centinela.

Group production in 2017 is expected to be in the range of 685,000-720,000 tonnes of copper (as previously announced), 185,000-205,000 ounces of gold and 8,500-9,500 tonnes of molybdenum.