NEWS RELEASE, 28 MARCH
2024
PUBLICATION OF 2023 REPORTING
SUITE, 2024 NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND CORPORATE
UPDATE
Antofagasta plc ("Antofagasta" or
the "Company") has today published the following reports: the 2023
Annual Report and Accounts, the 2024 Notice of Annual General
Meeting, 2023 Sustainability Report, and a new Climate Action Plan.
In addition, the Company has provided a corporate update on
previous announcements regarding the Los Pelambres concentrate
pipeline and investment in Compañía de
Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.
2023 Annual
Report and Accounts and 2024 Notice of Annual General
Meeting
In compliance with LR 9.6.1, the Company has
submitted the following documents to the Financial
Conduct
Authority by uploading them to the National
Storage Mechanism:
·
2023 Annual Report and Accounts
·
2024 Notice of Annual General Meeting
·
Form of Proxy for Ordinary Shareholders for Annual General
Meeting
·
Form of Proxy for Preference Shareholders for Annual General
Meeting
·
Letter to Shareholders regarding Electronic
Communications
·
Statement of Reasons connected with PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP ceasing to hold office as Auditors
These documents will shortly be available for
inspection in unedited full text at the National Storage Mechanism
at data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.
The 2023 Annual Report
and Accounts, 2024 Notice of
Annual General Meeting and Statement of Reasons connected with
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ceasing to hold office as
Auditors are also available to view on the Company's
website at www.antofagasta.co.uk.
This announcement is made in accordance with
DTR 6.3.5R(1A).
Arrangements
for 2024 Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will be held,
in-person, at Church House Westminster, Dean's Yard, London SW1P
3NZ at 10:00am on Wednesday 8 May 2024. The formal notice of the
Annual General Meeting and resolutions to be proposed are set out
in the Notice of Annual General Meeting.
Mining
Division's 2023 Sustainability Report and Climate Action
Plan
The Mining Division's 2023
Sustainability Report and associated Databook, and Climate Action
Plan have also been published today and are available to view on
the Company's website at www.antofagasta.co.uk.
The Climate Action Plan includes the decarbonisation strategy to
accompany the emissions reduction targets that were released in
February 2024.
Modern Slavery Statement
In compliance with the United
Kingdom's modern slavery definition requirement, the Company's
Modern Slavery Statement has been published today and is available
to view on the Company's website at www.antofagasta.co.uk.
Corporate
Update
·
Concentrate filtering
resumed: As previously announced, on 31 January
2024, during regular cleaning activities prior to scheduled
maintenance of the concentrate pipeline that connects the
processing plant at Los Pelambres to the port at Los Vilos,
concentrate material was detected that was stopping the normal
transit of concentrate. This material was successfully cleared, and
the filtering of concentrates at the port facilities resumed at the
end of February. Mining and processing operations at Los Pelambres
continued to operate unaffected throughout this process and
concentrates were stockpiled at the processing plant in
pre-existing stockpile locations. As a result, a portion of the Los
Pelambres' concentrate filtered production and sales from Q1 2024,
estimated to be approximately 27,000 tonnes of payable copper, will
be rescheduled into future quarters. Following receipt of the
relevant permit last year, Los Pelambres has initiated construction
of a new concentrate pipeline. Until completion of this pipeline,
Los Pelambres will continue to operate the existing concentrate
pipeline under enhanced safety operating conditions and revised
maintenance protocols. The Company confirms that production
guidance for 2024 remains unaffected.
· Buenaventura: In
line with the Company's previous release in December 2023, when it
was announced that the Company had entered into transactions in the
secondary market to acquire beneficial ownership of shares of
Compañía de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. (Buenaventura), the Company
can confirm that it now holds 48.1 million shares of Buenaventura,
representing the equivalent of approximately 19% of Buenaventura's
issued share capital. Following a meeting of Buenaventura's
shareholders in March 2024, the Company can confirm that Iván
Arriagada and Andrónico Luksic L. have now joined Buenaventura's
Board of Directors.
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Cautionary
Statement
This announcement contains certain
forward-looking statements. All statements other than historical
facts are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking
statements include, without limitation, those regarding the Group's
strategy, plans, objectives or future operating or financial
performance, reserve and resource estimates, commodity demand and
trends in commodity prices, growth opportunities, and any
assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing. Words
such as "intend", "aim", "project", "anticipate", "estimate",
"plan", "believe", "expect", "may", "should", "will", "continue"
and similar expressions identify forward-looking
statements.
Forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that
are beyond the Group's control. Given these risks, uncertainties
and assumptions, actual results, performance or achievements could
differ materially from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements, which apply only as at the date of this report. These
forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions
regarding the Group's present and future business strategies and
the environment in which the Group will operate in the future.
Important factors that could cause actual results, performance or
achievements to differ from those in the forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to: natural events, global economic
and financial conditions (which may affect our business, results of
operations or financial condition); various political, economic,
legal, regulatory, social and other risks and uncertainties across
jurisdictions in which the Group operates; changes to mining
concessions or the imposition of new mining royalties, or changes
to existing mining royalties in the jurisdictions in which the
Group operates; the Group's ability to comply with the extensive
body of regulations governing the mining industry, as well as the
need to manage relationships with local communities; the ongoing
effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic; demand, supply and prices
for copper and other long-term commodity price assumptions (as they
materially affect the timing and feasibility of future projects and
developments); trends in the copper mining industry and conditions
of the international copper markets; the effect of currency
exchange rates on commodity prices and operating costs; the
availability and costs associated with mining inputs and labour;
operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or
development activities; risks, hazards and/or events and conditions
inherent to the mining industry, which may affect our operations or
facilities; employee relations; climate change as well as the
effects of extreme weather conditions; the outcome of any
litigation arbitration, regulatory or administrative proceedings to
which the Group is and may be subject in the future; and actions
and activities of governmental authorities, including changes to
laws, regulations or taxation.
Except as required by applicable law, rule or
regulation, the Group does not undertake any obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. Past
performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future
performance.
No statement in this announcement is intended
as a profit forecast or estimate for any period. No statement in
this announcement should be interpreted to indicate a particular
level of profit and, as a consequence, it should not be possible to
derive a profit figure for any future period from this
report.