Anglo American's first-quarter copper output rises

April 28 (Reuters) - Anglo American AAL.L posted a 1% rise in first-quarter copper production on Tuesday, helped by higher output at its Los Bronces and Collahuasi mines in Chile, and maintained its annual production outlook.

Anglo, which has agreed to merge with Canada's Teck Resources TECKb.TO to create the world's fifth-largest copper producer, said it will be divesting its non-core assets, including its coal operations and diamonds unit De Beers, as planned.

"We are progressing the sale process for De Beers and continue to assess further cost and capital preservation measures to minimise the impact from challenging diamond markets," CEO Duncan Wanblad said in a statement.

Anglo, which has been streamlining its operations to refocus on copper since BHP's BHP.AX failed 2024 buyout attempt, said it was actively managing the possible adverse impacts, like operational cost inflation stemming from the Middle East conflict.

The miner expects to produce between 700,000 and 760,000 tons of copper for the year. The firm produced 170,000 tons in the three months ended March 31, up by 1,000 tons from a year ago.