Antofagasta, one of the world's biggest copper miners, today cut its dividend after the Covid-struck global economy sent the price of the metal tumbling.
The price of copper during the first half of the year was 12.5% lower than the same period a year earlier, the Chile-focused giant said, although demand only slipped by a surprisingly low 2%.
Revenues crashed 15% to $2.14 billion and underlying profit fell $293 million to £1.01 billion.
Shares fell 3% in early trading.
The interim dividend will be cut from last year's 10.7 cents a share to 6.2 cents, reflecting the weaker profits.
That follows from dividend cuts from BHP and Glencore recently.
The copper market is one of the key barometers of economic growth as it is used widely in sectors as diverse as construction, electronics and automotive.
Antofagasta's profits also fell because revenues from by-products of its copper output - namely gold and molybdenum, fell 25%, albeit the impact was slightly offset by the higher gold price.
The company said covid took copper prices down to below $2.20 a pound at one stage but said it had since recovered to over $2.90/lb.
"The outlook for the remainder of the year depends largely on the impact of Covid-19 on global consumption.
"The company will continue to seek to achieve its production targets and to control its expenditure."
Antofagasta stuck with its previous guidance that its copper production this year would be at the lower end of the 725,000-755,000 tonnes range that it originally guided the market towards.
