Copper producer Antofagasta recovered well on Tuesday afternoon after its share price had initially dipped in the early session.

Antofagasta’s share price was up by 0.7 per cent to 1,001.0 pence (1530 hrs) despite tumbling in the morning session.

The Chilean miner reported full year profits down at 61 per cent but the share price recovered when the company said that copper production was ahead of the original forecast for the year by 12,500 tonnes.

While production was down, the decrease was not as bad as feared and was largely the result of lower plant throughput at Los Pelambreas, due to a higher proportion of harder primary ore under the mine.

Fears that the company would face further setbacks because of the Chilean earthquake eased after the company said there would be a limited impact on the group’s activities.

Despite this, the company had to concede that commissioning of the Los Pelambres plant expansion is now expected to be completed during the second quarter of this year with the commissioning of Esperanza to begin in Q4. Group forecast production is expected to be unaffected.

Marcelo Awad, chief executive officer of Antofagasta Minerals, said that 2009 was a successful year for the group.

He explained, ‘We responded to the global economic crisis by reducing our costs and modifying our production plans as necessary. Our strong financial position enabled us to continue paying special dividends while furthering our growth strategy.

‘We incurred a significant level of capital expenditure in 2009 as planned and increased exploration spend, and we should benefit from additional production in 2010 and also 2011.

‘Market conditions have improved through the second half of last year, although this has also brought a return of some cost pressures. We remain well-placed to progress with our existing development plans, longer-term prospects and continued search for attractive opportunities.’

Elsewhere, UK Coal got the attention of investors today having confirmed a merger approach that could mitigate the effect is of its exposure to deep mines – a known drag on its finances. The company was trading up by 9.1 per cent at 57.25 pence (1545 hrs).

Victoria Oil & Gas, meanwhile, saw a 2 per cent uplift after its latest test results for its flagship Logbaba Gas and Condensate project in Cameroon smashed expectations. The share price rose to 4.29 per cent.

TD WATERHOUSE
 Top ten trades
Tuesday 9 March (morning session)

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Buy
1. Royal Bank of Scotland, 19.5 per cent
2. Victoria Oil & Gas, 18.1 per cent
3. UK Coal, 13 per cent
4. Lloyds Banking Group, 11 per cent
5. Barclays. 8.9 per cent
6. Provexis, 6.6 per cent
7. Shanks Group, 6.2 per cent
8. Xstrata, 6 per cent
9. Gulf Keystone, 5.3 per cent
10. Aviva, 5.3 per cent

Sell
1. Lloyds Banking Group, 17.3 per cent
2. Barclays, 16.4 per cent
3. Royal Bank of Scotland, 13.9 per cent
4. UK Coal, 8.9 per cent
5. Victoria Oil & Gas, 8.4 per cent
6. Gulf Keystone, 8.4 per cent
7. GlaxoSmithKline, 7 per cent
8. Prudential, 6.7 per cent
9. Xstrata, 6.7 per cemt
10. BP, 6.4 per cent