Net earnings attributable to owners were $149.5 million, or 34 cents a share, compared with $222.4 million, or 56 cents a share, in the third quarter a year earlier. Earnings were up from $137.4 million, or 34 cents a share, in the previous quarter. Adjusted earnings of 34 cents a share matched the mean forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Copper production reached 30,152 metric tons, up from 28,267 tons in the previous quarter and 24,205 tons a year earlier. Gold output rose 36% quarter over quarter and 30% year over year to 69,513 troy ounces. Chief Executive Peter Kukielski said the company was on track to meet its annual copper production guidance for a 12th consecutive year and its gold target for a sixth straight year. Hudbay continues to forecast 110,000 to 138,000 tons of copper and 217,000 to 272,000 ounces of gold this year.

The miner said cost control remained resilient despite higher diesel prices. It now expects full-year sustaining cash costs of $1.40 to $1.80 a pound of copper, down from its earlier forecast of $1.70 to $2.10 per pound. In Peru, third-quarter production was 20,572 tons of copper and 5,267 ounces of gold. Manitoba produced 57,261 ounces of gold, 3,012 tons of copper, 3,691 tons of zinc and 268,346 ounces of silver.

Hudbay and Mitsubishi formally approved construction of the Copper World project in Arizona last month. The mine is projected to produce 102,000 metric tons of copper annually during its first 10 years, with first output expected in the second half of 2029. The development is expected to lift Hudbay’s annual copper production to about 250,000 tons. In June, the Toronto-based company closed a roughly $1.48 billion deal to acquire the outstanding shares of Arizona Sonoran. With staged development of its Cactus project, the combination puts Hudbay on a path to produce more than 350,000 tons of copper annually.