Adding MATSA to existing production from DeGrussa in Western Australia saw copper production rise to 28,774 tonnes from 18,675t in the previous quarter.

DeGrussa also produced 6956 ounces of gold, while MATSA also contributed 16,027t of zinc, 1901t of lead and 620,000 ounces of silver.

MATSA performed in line with expectations with optimisation to 4.7 million tonnes per annum underway.

The operation set a new monthly mine record of 398,595t in March, equating to an annualised run-rate of 4.9Mtpa.

Chief operating officer Jason Grace said the positive performance had started under the previous owner Trafigura.

"I give you every assurance we're not high-grading the place and we're not taking easy tonnes," he said.

The company remains on track to meet strengthened group full-year guidance of 92,000-95,000t of copper, previously 90,000-95,000t, 38,000t of zinc, previously 37,000t, 3000t of lead, previously 1000t, 30,000-34,000oz of gold and 1.4 million ounces of silver, previously 820,000oz.

Group C1 costs for the quarter were US$1.17 per pound.

Full-year C1 cost guidance was lifted slightly to $1.19/lb due to global inflationary pressures.

Quarterly sales revenue was US$343.1 million, while group EBITDA was $186.9 million.

Sandfire managing director Karl Simich said that at current commodity prices, annual EBITDA margin would be $600-800 million.

"And if one was to take $700 million, as a number, and multiply that by peer comparisons and the range of between 4-8, as a multiplier of EBITDA, it would give you a value proposition range for this
company today between A$8 and $16 and a midpoint of $12," he said.

"We're almost half price, as I see this morning, we're trading at somewhere around the $6 mark."

On the growth front, Sandfire should be producing 110,000-120,000t per annum of copper equivalent in FY23, increasing to 160,000tpa from FY24 when the Motheo mine in Botswana starts production.

The US$366 million project remains on budget and on schedule for first production in the June 2023 quarter.

Pre-strip of the open pit got underway in late March, a week ahead of schedule.

The project is at its peak spend in the current quarter and about 1250 people were onsite.

Grace said access to labour in Botswana was good but inflation there was running at about 10%.

Sandfire is completing a feasibility study into the expansion of the project from 3.2Mtpa to 5.2Mtpa, which would cost an estimated $47 million.

The company is advancing the process for a $160 million debt facility to fund the project.

Sandfire had $390.5 million cash at the end of the quarter and net debt of $409.5 million.

Simich described the quarter as truly transformational.

"With the completion of the MATSA acquisition and the strong progress we're making in Botswana, Sandfire is now substantially a different company to what we were just a few months ago," he said.

"Underpinned by a diversified international portfolio of operating assets and a strong development and exploration pipeline, we have well and truly embarked on the next chapter of the Sandfire story."

Sandfire shares rose as high as A$5.97 this morning and last traded 11% higher at $5.775. At that price, the company is worth $2.4 billion.