Antofagasta has increased its final dividend by more than 20 per cent after finishing 2008 with $3bn (£2.2bn) in cash.

The Chilean copper miner surprised the market by paying a final dividend of 53.6 cents – which includes a special pay-out of 48 cents – in contrast to peers such as Kazakhmys and Anglo American, which have defensively scrapped theirs. The total dividend for the year is 60 cents, up 21 per cent.