By Martin Creamer, Miningweekly
20th October 2011
Johannesburg (miningweekly.com) – Industrial action and geological constraints hit diversified Anglo American’s South African thermal coal production in the third quarter (Q3) of this year.
Anglo’s non-Eskom Q3 2011 production was down 11% at 5 198 000 t compared with 5 813 000 t in the corresponding period of last year, although export was up 7% to 4 605 000 t over Q3 2010, and up 43% quarter-on-quarter.
Supply to the State-owned Eskom power utility was down 16% at 8 752 000 t, compared with 10 431 000 t in Q3 2010.
Thermal output was up 18% in Colombia and up 17% in Australia.
South African thermal coal export prices were higher than in Q3 2010.
London analyst Liberum Capital notes that rival Xstrata received a better price than Anglo for its Australian thermal coal – $111/t by Xstrata compared with Anglo’s $98/t – and that Anglo got a better price than Xstrata in South Africa – $115/t compared with Xstrata’s $105/t.
Anglo American Thermal Coal’s Zibula project, which is expected to reach commercial production in early 2012, partly offset South Africa’s lower performance.
South Africa’s production of metallurgical coal was also down 32% to 76 000 t, while Anglo’s Australian opencast metallurgical coal operations were 24% up.
However, longwall moves at Australia’s underground metallurgical coal operations saw Australia’s total metallurgical coal output fall 4% to four-million tons.
COPPER DOWN
Anglo American’s copper production decreased by 9% to 139 900 t owing mainly to lower grades at Collahuasi, Los Bronces and Mantos Blancos, and weather interruptions at Collahuasi.
This was partially offset by higher production at El Soldado, which benefited from higher ore grades following recent mine development.
The Los Bronces expansion project remains on schedule for first production in Q4 2011.
At Collahuasi, commissioning of the first phase of the expansion project is under way to increase sulphide processing capacity to 150 000 t/d, an annual average production lift of 19 000 t/y of copper over the estimated life of the mine.
Chile’s State-owned copper-mining company Codelco has put a financing facility in place for its option to take up 49% of Anglo American Sur, which includes Los Bronces, El Soldado and the Chagres smelter in Chile.
Liberum says that the market is waiting for confirmation of how much Anglo will receive from Codelco and says that anything less than the $6.75-billion will be a bad outcome for Anglo.
It forecasts that Anglo’s earnings per share will fall 7.3% in 2012 and 8.6% in 2013 on Codelco’s exercising of the option.
Anglo’s copper equivalent growth to 2015 will also fall from 46% to 40%.
Liberum rates Anglo’s Q3 report as marginally the weakest of the majors that have reported so far, which include BHP Billiton and Xstrata.
IRON-ORE
Iron-ore production increased by 3% to 12.2-million tons, owing to increased performance from Kumba’s Sishen mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape province, where the commissioning of Kolomela remains on track to produce up to five-million tons a year in 2012, and nine-million tons a year in 2013.
Export sales volumes from Sishen rose 11% to 9.2-million tons and South African domestic sales volumes decreased 29% to 1.5-million tons owing to reduced offtake from ArcelorMittal South Africa.
In Brazil, record monthly production of 419 000 t was achieved at Amapá in September and civil works at the beneficiation plant and pipeline at the Minas-Rio iron-ore project are progressing, with the first ore shipment due in the second half of 2013.
20th October 2011
Johannesburg (miningweekly.com) – Industrial action and geological constraints hit diversified Anglo American’s South African thermal coal production in the third quarter (Q3) of this year.
Anglo’s non-Eskom Q3 2011 production was down 11% at 5 198 000 t compared with 5 813 000 t in the corresponding period of last year, although export was up 7% to 4 605 000 t over Q3 2010, and up 43% quarter-on-quarter.
Supply to the State-owned Eskom power utility was down 16% at 8 752 000 t, compared with 10 431 000 t in Q3 2010.
Thermal output was up 18% in Colombia and up 17% in Australia.
South African thermal coal export prices were higher than in Q3 2010.
London analyst Liberum Capital notes that rival Xstrata received a better price than Anglo for its Australian thermal coal – $111/t by Xstrata compared with Anglo’s $98/t – and that Anglo got a better price than Xstrata in South Africa – $115/t compared with Xstrata’s $105/t.
Anglo American Thermal Coal’s Zibula project, which is expected to reach commercial production in early 2012, partly offset South Africa’s lower performance.
South Africa’s production of metallurgical coal was also down 32% to 76 000 t, while Anglo’s Australian opencast metallurgical coal operations were 24% up.
However, longwall moves at Australia’s underground metallurgical coal operations saw Australia’s total metallurgical coal output fall 4% to four-million tons.
COPPER DOWN
Anglo American’s copper production decreased by 9% to 139 900 t owing mainly to lower grades at Collahuasi, Los Bronces and Mantos Blancos, and weather interruptions at Collahuasi.
This was partially offset by higher production at El Soldado, which benefited from higher ore grades following recent mine development.
The Los Bronces expansion project remains on schedule for first production in Q4 2011.
At Collahuasi, commissioning of the first phase of the expansion project is under way to increase sulphide processing capacity to 150 000 t/d, an annual average production lift of 19 000 t/y of copper over the estimated life of the mine.
Chile’s State-owned copper-mining company Codelco has put a financing facility in place for its option to take up 49% of Anglo American Sur, which includes Los Bronces, El Soldado and the Chagres smelter in Chile.
Liberum says that the market is waiting for confirmation of how much Anglo will receive from Codelco and says that anything less than the $6.75-billion will be a bad outcome for Anglo.
It forecasts that Anglo’s earnings per share will fall 7.3% in 2012 and 8.6% in 2013 on Codelco’s exercising of the option.
Anglo’s copper equivalent growth to 2015 will also fall from 46% to 40%.
Liberum rates Anglo’s Q3 report as marginally the weakest of the majors that have reported so far, which include BHP Billiton and Xstrata.
IRON-ORE
Iron-ore production increased by 3% to 12.2-million tons, owing to increased performance from Kumba’s Sishen mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape province, where the commissioning of Kolomela remains on track to produce up to five-million tons a year in 2012, and nine-million tons a year in 2013.
Export sales volumes from Sishen rose 11% to 9.2-million tons and South African domestic sales volumes decreased 29% to 1.5-million tons owing to reduced offtake from ArcelorMittal South Africa.
In Brazil, record monthly production of 419 000 t was achieved at Amapá in September and civil works at the beneficiation plant and pipeline at the Minas-Rio iron-ore project are progressing, with the first ore shipment due in the second half of 2013.
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