Q2 2021 Production Report
20 July, 2021
Anglo American plc Production Report for the second quarter ended 30 June 2021.
Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “We have delivered a solid operational performance supported by comprehensive Covid-19 measures to help safeguard the lives and livelihoods of our workforce and host communities. We have generally maintained operating levels at approximately 95%(1) of normal capacity and, as a consequence, production increased by 20%(2) compared to Q2 of last year, with planned higher rough diamond production at De Beers, as well as strong plant performance at our Los Bronces copper operation in Chile and higher throughput at our Mogalakwena platinum group metals mine in South Africa.
"We also successfully completed the demerger of our thermal coal operations in South Africa and announced the sale of our minority interest in Cerrejón in Colombia, marking the last stage of our transition from thermal coal operations, ahead of schedule. Our portfolio and growth investments are increasingly focused on those future-enabling metals and minerals that are critical to decarbonising energy and transport and to meeting consumers’ growing needs, from luxury to everyday."
Q2 highlights
- Completed the demerger of the South Africa thermal coal operations.
- Announced the sale of our 33% interest in the Cerrejón thermal coal mine, subject to regulatory approvals.
- Rough diamond production increased by 134%, reflecting planned higher production in response to the ongoing consumer demand recovery.
- Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) production increased by 59%, with Mogalakwena production increasing by 11%, reflecting the relatively lower impact of Covid-19 lockdowns compared to Q2 2020. Strong refined output reflected stable performance from the ACP Phase A unit.
- Iron ore production increased by 6%, driven primarily by Kumba, reflecting the lower impact of Covid-19 lockdowns compared to Q2 2020.
- Copper production increased by 2% due to strong plant performance at Los Bronces.
- At our longwall metallurgical coal operations, mining restarted at Moranbah at the beginning of June and development work at Grosvenor continues to progress, with restart expected towards the end of the year.
Production | Q2 2021 | Q2 2020 | % vs. Q2 2020 | H1 2021 | H1 2020 | % vs. H1 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diamonds (Mct)(3) | 8.2 | 3.5 | 134% | 15.4 | 11.3 | 37% |
Copper (kt)(4) | 170 | 167 | 2% | 330 | 314 | 5% |
Platinum group metals (koz)(5) | 1,058 | 665 | 59% | 2,079 | 1,620 | 28% |
Iron ore (Mt)(6) | 15.7 | 14.8 | 6% | 31.9 | 30.8 | 3% |
Metallurgical coal (Mt) | 3.0 | 4.0 | (25)% | 6.2 | 7.8 | (20)% |
Nickel (kt)(7) | 10.6 | 10.8 | (2)% | 20.7 | 21.7 | (5)% |
Manganese ore (kt) | 941 | 796 | 18% | 1,845 | 1,639 | 13% |
Thermal coal (Mt)(8) | 4.3 | 4.4 | (1)% | 9.3 | 10.5 | (12)% |
(1) Production capacity excludes Moranbah and Grosvenor.
(2) Copper equivalent production is normalised to reflect the demerger of the South Africa thermal coal operations and the closure of the manganese alloy operations and excludes the impact of the Grosvenor suspension and announced sale of Cerrejón. Including the impact of Grosvenor and Cerrejón, copper equivalent production increased by 20% compared to Q2 2020.
(3) De Beers Group production is on a 100% basis, except for the Gahcho Kué joint venture which is on an attributable 51% basis.
(4) Contained metal basis. Reflects copper production from the Copper business unit only (excludes copper production from the Platinum Group Metals business unit).
(5) Produced ounces of metal in concentrate. 5E+Au (platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium plus gold). Reflects own mine production and purchase of concentrate.
(6) Wet basis.
(7) Reflects nickel production from the Nickel business unit only (excludes nickel production from the Platinum Group Metals business unit).
(8) Reflects export primary production, secondary production sold into export markets and production sold domestically at export parity pricing from South Africa until the demerger of the South Africa thermal coal operations effective on 4 June 2021, and attributable export production (33.3%) from Colombia (Cerrejón).
PRODUCTION OUTLOOK SUMMARY
2021 production guidance is summarised as follows:
2021 production guidance(1) | |
---|---|
Diamonds(2) | 32-33 Mct (previously 32-34 Mct) |
Copper(3) | 650-680 kt (previously 640-680 kt) |
Platinum Group Metals(4) | 4.2-4.4 Moz (previously 4.2-4.6 Moz) |
Iron ore(5) | 64.5-66.5 Mt (previously 64.5-67.5 Mt) |
Metallurgical coal(6) | 14-16 Mt |
Nickel(7) | 42-44 kt |
(1) Subject to the extent of further Covid-19 related disruption.
(2) Subject to trading conditions and on a 100% basis except for the Gahcho Kué joint venture, which is on an attributable 51% basis.
(3) Copper business unit only. On a contained-metal basis.
(4) 5E + gold produced metal in concentrate ounces. Includes own mined production (~65%) and purchased concentrate volumes (~35%). The split of metals differs for own mined and purchased concentrate, refer to FY2019 results presentation slide 30 for indicative split of own mined volumes. FY2021 metal in concentrate production is expected to be 1.9-2.0 million ounces of platinum, 1.35-1.40 million ounces of palladium and 0.95-1.0 million ounces of other PGMs and gold.
(5) Wet basis.
(6) Excludes thermal coal production in Australia.
(7) Nickel business unit only.
REALISED PRICES
H1 2021 | H1 2020 | H1 2021 vs H1 2020 | |
---|---|---|---|
De Beers | |||
Consolidated average realised price ($/ct)(1) | 135 | 119 | 13% |
Average price index(2) | 109 | 109 | 0% |
Copper (USc/lb)(3) | 460 | 250 | 84% |
Platinum Group Metals | |||
Platinum (US$/oz) | 1,170 | 857 | 37% |
Palladium (US$/oz) | 2,641 | 2,141 | 23% |
Rhodium (US$/oz) | 24,377 | 8,985 | 171% |
Basket price (US$/PGM oz)(4) | 2,884 | 1,956 | 47% |
Iron Ore – FOB prices(5) | 210 | 90 | 133% |
Kumba Export (US$/wmt)(6) | 216 | 91 | 137% |
Minas-Rio (US$/wmt)(7) | 200 | 88 | 127% |
Metallurgical Coal | |||
HCC (US$/t)(8) | 117 | 123 | (5)% |
PCI (US$/t)(8) | 103 | 98 | 5% |
Nickel (USc/lb) | 721 | 502 | 44% |
Thermal Coal | |||
Australia (US$/t)(8) | 87 | 58 | 50% |
South Africa - Export (US$/t)(9) | 77 | 61 | 26% |
Colombia (US$/t) | 65 | 46 | 41% |
(1) Consolidated average realised price based on 100% selling value post-aggregation.
(2) Average of the De Beers price index for the Sights within the 6-month period. The De Beers price index is relative to 100 as at December 2006. While the average H1 price index remained broadly flat year-on-year, the closing index increased by 14% compared to the start of 2021.
(3) The realised price for Copper excludes third party sales volumes.
(4) Price for a basket of goods per PGM oz. The dollar basket price is the net sales revenue from all metals (PGMs, base metals and other metals), excluding trading, per 5E + gold sold ounces (own mined and purchased concentrate).
(5) Average realised total iron ore price is a weighted average of the Kumba and Minas-Rio realised prices. The comparative has been restated as Kumba previously reported on a dry basis.
(6) Average realised export basket price (FOB Saldanha) (wet basis as product is shipped with ~1.6% moisture). The comparative has been restated as Kumba previously reported on a dry basis. The realised prices differ to Kumba's standalone results due to sales to other Group companies. Average realised export basket price (FOB Saldanha) on a dry basis is $220/t (H1 2020: $93/t) and this was higher than the dry 62% Fe benchmark price of $166/t (FOB South Africa, adjusted for freight).
(7) Average realised export basket price (FOB Açu) (wet basis as product is shipped with ~9% moisture).
(8) Weighted average coal sales price achieved at managed operations.
(9) Weighted average export thermal coal price achieved until the demerger of the South Africa thermal coal operations effective on 4 June 2021.
NOTES
- This Production Report for the quarter ended 30 June 2021 is unaudited.
- Production figures are sometimes more precise than the rounded numbers shown in this Production Report.
- Copper equivalent production shows changes in underlying production volume. It is calculated by expressing each product’s volume as revenue, subsequently converting the revenue into copper equivalent units by dividing by the copper price (per tonne). Long-term forecast prices are used, in order that period-on-period comparisons exclude any impact for movements in price.
- Please refer to page 18 for information on forward-looking statements.
In this document, references to “Anglo American”, the “Anglo American Group”, the “Group”, “we”, “us”, and “our” are to refer to either Anglo American plc and its subsidiaries and/or those who work for them generally, or where it is not necessary to refer to a particular entity, entities or persons. The use of those generic terms herein is for convenience only, and is in no way indicative of how the Anglo American Group or any entity within it is structured, managed or controlled. Anglo American subsidiaries, and their management, are responsible for their own day-to-day operations, including but not limited to securing and maintaining all relevant licences and permits, operational adaptation and implementation of Group policies, management, training and any applicable local grievance mechanisms. Anglo American produces group-wide policies and procedures to ensure best uniform practices and standardisation across the Anglo American Group but is not responsible for the day to day implementation of such policies. Such policies and procedures constitute prescribed minimum standards only. Group operating subsidiaries are responsible for adapting those policies and procedures to reflect local conditions where appropriate, and for implementation, oversight and monitoring within their specific businesses.
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