Anglo American reports promising Q2 results

Anglo American reports increased steelmaking coal and copper production for Q2 alongside record performance for the Minas-Rio iron ore mine in Brazil.

Anglo American chief executive Duncan Wanblad says the company will continue to embed operational excellence across the asset base.

“In May, we announced our plan to accelerate our strategy by simplifying the portfolio and focusing on our world-class assets in copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients,” he said.

“We are working at pace to execute on the asset divestments, including steelmaking coal with the intention of optimising value for our shareholders, while minimising frictional costs, mitigating execution risks and enabling the delivery of significant sustainable cost savings.

“Work is progressing with the aim of substantively completing this transformation by the end of 2025.”

The company reported a 2% increase in Q2 copper production compared to the first half of 2023. Production guidance for 2024 is unchanged at 730,000–790,000t.

Steelmaking coal production increased by 26% to 4.2mt from Q2 FY23, mainly from higher production at the Grosvenor underground mine. Anglo American has updated its 2024 production guidance to 14-15.5mt from 15-17mt following the Grosvenor mine fire in June.

“At the end of June, the Grosvenor mine experienced an underground fire and the workforce was safely evacuated without injury,” said Mr Wanblad.

“As a result of the incident, the operation is suspended and Grosvenor’s production is excluded from the steelmaking coal guidance for the second half of the year.”

Production at Minas-Rio increased by 1% to 6.4mt from Q2 FY23, driven by operational improvement in mineral processing. This year’s iron ore production guidance is unchanged at 58–62mt.

“Minas-Rio achieved record second quarter production, while our copper operations in Chile and Peru both performed well against our plans,” he said.

Rough diamond production decreased by 15% from Q2 FY23, driven by a proactive approach to manage inventory and preserve cash.

“De Beers’ diamond production reflects the lower revised guidance announced in our first quarter production report.

“Trading conditions became more challenging in the second quarter as Chinese consumer demand remained subdued.

“With higher-than-normal levels of inventory remaining in the midstream and an expectation for a protracted recovery, we are therefore actively assessing options with our partners to further reduce production to manage our working capital and preserve cash.”