Resource company Equinox Minerals Ltd
(ASX:EQN) has posted a net loss of $38.7 million for the three months to June 30, compared with a $1.8 million loss for the same period a year ago.
This was despite the company reporting an operating profit of $36.1 million from its Lumwana copper and uranium mine in Zambia.
Lumwana began production in April, producing 24,413 tonnes of copper at a cost of $1.44 for the quarter.
The company says Lumwana continues to ramp up and management estimates interim production guidance for the 2009 calendar year, including this quarter’s production, will be in the range of between 110,000 and 120,000 tonnes of copper metal concentrates at an average estimated cost of between US$1.35 and US$1.50 a pound.
Equinox says its focus will be on operating its flagship Lumwana mine in Zambia.
Equinox Minerals lifted itself out of the red to post a profit in 2008.
