LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) – Global miner Anglo American
posted a rise in second quarter output for its key
commodities, with iron ore and copper helped higher by
production ramp ups at the flagship Kolomela and Los Bronces
mines, while platinum and diamonds were weaker.
Anglo announced production results for the second quarter
just a day after a major reshuffle at its South African units
that included a new bosses for platinum, Kumba Iron Ore
and thermal coal units, triggered by the departure of Neville
Nicolau from the helm of Anglo American Platinum. He
will be replaced by Kumba’s Chris Griffith.
Iron ore, a key plank of the miner’s growth strategy, was up
12 percent at 12.9 million tonnes, due to the ramp up of Kumba’s
Kolomela mine that offset operational issues at Sishen, and
improvements at Anglo’s Amapa operation in Brazil. Kumba
reported earnings separately on Friday.
Copper production was helped 7 percent higher by Chile’s Los
Bronces, though increases there were partly dented by lower
grades and adverse weather, as well as lower recoveries and a
ball mill failure at the Collahuasi operation, the world’s third
largest copper mine.
Diamonds followed a drop in the first quarter with a further
11 percent drop in the second as De Beers, which separately
reported earnings on Friday, focuses on maintenance and waste
stripping while it waits for demand to recover.
Platinum, the unit whose troubles have been a focus for
Anglo and its investors, saw virtually flat production compared
to the previous year, thanks to improved productivity and safety
performance at its core Rustenburg mines.
Refined platinum production totalled 623,000 ounces, down 3
percent on the same quarter last year. That dip was partly
caused by the delayed restart of the converter plant, with the
backlog in stocks to be processed by the end of the third
quarter.
Anglo’s metallurgical coal operation, meanwhile, produced a
record quarter thanks to improvements at its open cut operations
including Peace River Coal, which the group has elected not to
sell. Production of the steelmaking coal rose 23 percent in the
second quarter, year on year, to 4.8 million tonnes.
Thermal coal, meanwhile, saw production increases both in
Colombia and South Africa.
