Asarco copper output cuts could extend until next year

Copper miner Asarco, owned by Grupo Mexico, could continue with its reduced output level from its Hayden concentrator unless the price of copper improves by the end of the year, Grupo Mexico board member Óscar González said Tuesday.

González said that cost cutting announced last month by Asarco will cut copper output from its Hayden concentrator by about 30,000 tonnes this year.

"Thirty thousand tonnes this year, and we're going to see how the price of copper ends the year to see if we continue with the reduction or if we reactivate if the price improves," González told reporters on the sidelines of a mining conference.