By Alex MacDonald
LONDON--Globally diversified miner Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN)
Friday reported mixed output with copper, coal, diamond and nickel
output up, but iron ore down and platinum output broadly flat on
the year in the third quarter.
Anglo American, the world's fifth largest diversified miner by
market capitalization, said iron-ore output fell 24% on year and
16% on quarter to 9.5 million metric tons, while copper production
rose 32% on year and 13% on quarter to 207,300 tons in the third
quarter. Iron ore and copper accounted for about half and a fifth
of the company's underlying operating profit during the first half
of this year.
The FTSE-100 miner produced more iron ore and copper just as
prices for both commodities rebounded in the third quarter from
their lows in the second quarter. Iron ore and copper prices
recovered amid growing optimism that China, the world's largest
consumer of the two products, can achieve a soft landing. China
released data Friday showing that its economy expanded by around
7.8% in the third quarter, in line with economists'
expectations.
Mining titan Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) also reported earlier in the
week a rise in third-quarter iron ore production to a quarterly
record stemming from the continued expansion of its West Australian
operations. Rio's second-quarter copper output also rose 11% on
quarter due in part to faster-than-expected recovery of its U.S.
operations, where it suffered a landslide at one of its open pit
mines.
Iron ore output at Anglo American' majority owned South African
unit, Kumba Iron Ore Ltd (KIO.JO), fell due to lower output from
the Sishen mine as a result of pit constraints and work safety
stoppages. Copper production increased on year due improved
operating performance at its Chilean Los Bronces mine and a more
than doubling of output from Chile's Collahuasi mine, following
repair work on a mill that broke down last year and access to
higher ore grades.
Anglo's third-quarter combined coal output rose 3.4% on year to
26.7 million tons with higher Colombian coal exports, South African
thermal coal output and metallurgical coal production offseting
lower South African thermal coal exports. Coal accounted for 11% of
the company's first-half underlying operating profit.
The miner's majority-owned South African unit Anglo American
Platinum Ltd. (AMS.JO), the world's largest platinum producer, saw
equivalent platinum output drop 0.5% on year to 623,000 troy ounces
in the third quarter. It said that strike action against its
proposed job cuts resulted in a loss of about 44,000 platinum
ounces of production between Sep 27 and Oct 10.
Diamond output from majority-owned De Beers SA, the world's
second largest rough diamond producer, rose 21% to 7.73 million
carats in the third quarter largely due output recovery at its
Jwaneng mine. Nickel output rose 7% on year in the third quarter to
9,600 tons due to higher output from its Brazilian Barro Alto
facility, but the miner cautioned that the furnace will have to be
rebuilt during 2014 and 2015 and full production rates aren't
expected to be achieved until 2016.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com
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