On the back of an “undeniably difficult 2015” resulting in a 10.6% year-on-year drop in total copper production, Chilean miner Antofagasta hopes to boost its 2016 copper production by between 12.6% and 17.4%. The miner said in a statement on Wednesday that it hoped to benefit from a full year of production at Zaldívar mine – a 50% joint venture with Barrick Gold, which it bought into last year – as well as growth at its Antucoya and Centinela operations.