Anglo American plc Production Report for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2011
26 January, 2012
Anglo American plc production report for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2011
Overview
- Iron ore production increased by 5% to 12.4 million tonnes mainly due to initial production from Kolomela mine and a continued improvement in performance at Amapá
- 9 Mtpa Kolomela mine commissioned five months ahead of schedule, with first shipment from Saldanha port in December 2011
- Production ramp up schedule for Kolomela mine of 4-5 million tonnes in 2012
- Metallurgical Coal delivered record production from its Australian open cut metallurgical coal operations, resulting in a 4% increase in metallurgical coal production to 4.1 million tonnes
- Export thermal coal production from South Africa and Colombia increased by 5% to 8.6 million tonnes
- Copper production increased by 10% to 170,000 tonnes, and by 22% compared to Q3 2011, due to the commissioning of the Los Bronces expansion and higher ore grades at Los Bronces, Collahuasi and El Soldado
- Nickel(1) production increased by 125% to 9,900 tonnes, and by 52% compared to Q3 2011, as production from Barro Alto continued to ramp up
- Platinum refined production decreased by 19% to 710,000 ounces, mainly due to a greater number of safety stoppages resulting in lower mine production and increased processing of lower grade surface stockpiles. Equivalent refined platinum production declined by 9% to 583,200 ounces, due to a higher number of safety stoppages. This was offset by a strong performance at Mogalakwena’s North pit and full ramp up at Unki mine
- Diamond production decreased by 24% to 6.5 million carats. This reduction mainly reflects De Beers’ deliberate focus on increasing waste stripping, as well as scheduled maintenance at the Debswana and DBCM operations in recognition of short-term global macro-economic volatility
This Production Report for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2011 is unaudited.
Preliminary Results for the full year to 31 December 2011 will be announced on 17 February 2012.
(1) Nickel production from the Nickel business unit
View full PDF of this press release (90 KB, link opens in a new window)