Anglo American reports rise in fourth quarter production

29th Jan 2014 18:28

- Q4 production rises across most commodities- Sishen mine constrained by waste material- Exploration expenditure fallsAnglo American reported an increase in fourth quarter iron ore, copper, nickel and thermal coal production. On average its full-year production figures beat both its own guidance and consensus estimates. Output from the company's South African-focused business Kumba Iron Ore increased 25% to 11.3m tonnes in the final three months of 2013 as a 39% jump in production at the Sishen mine offset a 2% fall at the Kolomela mine.Full year production at Kumba came in at 42.4 tonnes, about 4% ahead of guidance. The Sishen mine recovered following the impact of the unprotected strike in the fourth quarter of 2012. However, full-year production dropped by 8% to 30.9m tonnes as the Sishen pit remained constrained by waste material, which reduces the availability of material supplied to the processing plants.Anglo has implemented a production recovery plan to address the current pit constraints and a longer term operational optimisation strategy. The Kolomela mine's output rose by 26% for the full year.The group's export thermal coal production increased by 8% to 7.9m tonnes and export metallurgical coal production rose by 3% to 4.7m tonnes in the fourth quarter.Production at the underground operations climbed 5%, despite an additional planned longwall move at Moranbah. Full-year production increased by 30% to 7.3m tonnes at the underground operations following a significant improvement in longwall productivity over the past 18 months.Copper production increased by 24% to a record 214,400 tonnes in the fourth quarter supported by the Los Bronces and Collahuasi mines. Full-year output was up 17% to 774,700 tonnes, or about 3% ahead of its own guidance.Nickel production increased by 38% to 10,200 tonnes in the quarter, reflecting progress at Barro Alto to improve operational stability, despite the need for furnace rebuilds. Full-year production fell 12% to 34,400 tonnes.Exploration and evaluation expenditure for the fourth quarter came to $166m, down 19% on the prior year, while the total for 2013 was $533m, a decrease of 27%.RD