Anglo American PLC said Thursday that production in the third quarter was broadly flat on year and it expects sales in the fourth quarter to be affected by the normal temporary closure of cutting and polishing factories in India due to religious holidays.
The FTSE 100 miner
AAL,
said higher production from Quellaveco in Peru, steelmaking coal and De Beers was primarily offset by lower copper ore grades in Chile as well as some operational challenges.
Iron ore production was 16.1 million metric tons in the three months through September, a 5% fall from a year earlier.
Copper output fell 6% to 147,000 tons due to planned lower grades at all operations in Chile as well as unfavorable ore characteristics at Los Bronces. This was partly offset by first production of copper from Quellaveco, the company said.
Platinum group metals production was down 6% at 1.05 million ounces due to power outages in September among other issues, it said.
Diamond production rose 4%, a reflection of higher grade ore in Botswana as well as continued strong performance in Namibia.
Steelmaking coal output was up 28%, with nickel down 4%, and manganese ore down 3%, the company said.
The company backed its guidance of 32 million to 34 million carats, subject to trading conditions and further Covid-19 disruption.
Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com
