Business
CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS AT THE 2016 AGM
CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS AT THE 2016 AGM.
About this update from Antofagasta Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 5605Y Antofagasta PLC 18 May 2016 \n\nNEWS RELEASE, 18 MAY 2016\n \nCHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS AT THE 2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING \n \nAntofagasta plc (the \"Company\") today released the script to be used by the Chairman, Jean-Paul Luksic at the Company's Annual General Meeting that commences at 10:00am today. \nThank you for joining us today.\nAs you can see, all of your directors are in attendance, as well as several members of senior management including our new Group CEO, Iván Arriagada and I welcome him to this, his first AGM as Group CEO.\nI would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Diego Hernández for his service to the Group. As you all know, Diego stepped down from the role of Group CEO last month, having successfully led the Company through an important period and challenging market conditions. Since joining the Group in 2012, Diego has implemented robust organisational structures to ensure that we are well placed to adapt to new challenges. He has also managed the achievement of many important milestones for the Group including the commissioning of the Antucoya mine, the closure of Michilla, the sale of the group's water business and the acquisition of 50% of Zaldívar. \nOn behalf of all the Board and the employees and shareholders we wish to thank Diego for his time as Chief Executive and I, and the Board, look forward to working with him as he continues to advise us on important matters affecting the Group.\nBefore proposing the resolutions set out in the notice of meeting, I would like to highlight briefly Antofagasta's financial and operational performance during 2015 and the outlook for the rest of this year. I will then move onto the formal part of the meeting and there will be an opportunity to ask questions after that.\nThere is no doubt that 2015 was a difficult year, and one in which the challenges facing our industry were brought into sharp focus. Continued falls in commodity prices highlighted the worst effects of more than a decade of bullish markets - a time in the cycle when controlling costs was less important than securing production growth. This approach led to over-investment in new mining capacity across the globe and declining productivity. Industry lead times have meant that just as global demand growth slowed, much of this new production came on...