Business Scope
- ExxonMobil owns and operates the Los Bronces and El Soldado copper mines and the Chagres smelter in Chile.
Industry Conditions
- Copper prices averaged $0.82 per pound, up $0.11 per pound from 1999, as increases in demand outpaced production.
- Worldwide industry inventories of copper declined in 2000.
Minerals Strategies
- Reduce costs and improve effectiveness to achieve leading-edge performance
- Pursue attractive opportunities to optimize and expand production from existing operations
2000 Highlights
Earnings doubled on higher copper volumes and prices.
Return on capital employed exceeded 10 percent for the first time since 1995, when copper prices were more than $1.30 per pound.
Record copper production and sales exceeded 250 thousand metric tons.
The Chagres smelter upgrade was completed, allowing production of up to 150 thousand metric tons annually of higher value copper anode and blister.
Two projects are underway in Chile to increase copper throughput and recovery. After completion in 2002, the projects are expected to add up to 60 thousand metric tons of fine copper production annually.
| STATISTICAL RECAP
(1) |
2000 |
|
1999 |
1998 |
1997 |
 |
| Earnings (millions
of dollars) |
86 |
|
43 |
(10) |
31 |
| Copper production (thousands
of metric tons) |
254 |
|
248 |
216 |
202 |
| Average capital employed
(millions of dollars) |
834 |
|
897 |
952 |
1,1011 |
| Capital expenditures
(millions of dollars) |
68 |
|
23 |
31 |
69 |
(1) Excludes discontinued operations.
