LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Atalaya Mining said in an update on Monday that it mined 3.4 million tonnes of ore during the first quarter, which was less than the four million tonnes mined in the same quarter of 2022.

The AIM-traded firm said the quantity of waste mined was 6.5 million tonnes, compared to 6.8 million tonnes a year earlier.

Overall, material movements were in line with budget, and waste mining was prioritised to align ore mining rates with plant capacity.

During the first quarter, Atalaya's processing plant processed 3.7 million tonnes of ore, up from 3.5 million tonnes year-on-year.

However, the company said throughput rates were impacted by the decision to carry out a scheduled plant maintenance shutdown in March instead of April.

Copper recoveries improved during the quarter due to favourable ore characteristics, resulting in an 86.88% recovery rate.

The firm produced 12,139 tonnes of copper in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 11,461 tonnes in the same period of 2022.

Atalaya said the expected production for the quarter was rescheduled to the second quarter due to the rescheduling of plant maintenance activities.

The average realised copper price in the quarter was $4.00 per pound, excluding QPs closed during the period, compared to $4.50 in the first quarter of 2022.

Its balance sheet was described as strong, with unaudited consolidated cash and cash equivalents of €119.3m as at 31 March.

Atalaya said it was advancing the construction of its 50 MW solar plant at Riotinto, which was expected to provide around 22% of its current electricity needs when fully operational.

All major materials were on site, with civil works underway and start-up expected later in the year.

The company said it was continuing to evaluate additional renewable power initiatives that could deliver further low-cost and carbon-free electricity for its operations at Riotinto, including the installation of wind turbines.

Despite the challenges it faced in the first quarter, Atalaya said it remained confident in achieving its full-year 2023 guidance, as it announced in March.

"We have had a positive start to 2023, with significant improvements in the first quarter compared to the same period last year," said chief executive officer Alberto Lavandeira.

"Our operations are performing well, with a catch-up in throughput expected in April following the decision to bring forward plant maintenance activities into the first quarter.

"Electricity prices have continued to fall from 2022 levels, which will have a positive impact on our unit costs."

Looking at its project portfolio, Lavandeira said the firm remained busy.[

"Construction is progressing at the E-LIX and solar plants, optimisation work is under way following the announcement of the Riotinto PEA, permitting continues at Touro and exploration activities are ongoing at Proyecto Masa Valverde and Proyecto Ossa Morena.

"We were also very pleased to be granted the environmental approval at Proyecto Masa Valverde, which highlights that Andalucía is a world-class mining jurisdiction."

Finally, Lavandeira said the company was continuing to believe in the long-term outlook for copper, which was improving as major economies accelerated their investments in the energy transition and were securing critical raw materials supply.

"In recent months, many of our peers in the mining sector have been active in pursuing copper production growth, which emphasises the scarcity value associated with high quality-copper assets in mining friendly jurisdictions like Spain."

At 1009 BST, shares in Atalaya Mining were down 1.31% at 345.43p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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