Copper equivalent production from Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) decreased by 3% in the quarter ended 30 September 2018, if the ongoing stoppage of production at the Minas Rio iron ore mine in Brazil is included in the figures.
The restart of mining at Minas Rio has been delayed until the end of the year, following the discovery of two pipeline leaks. Earlier in the year, analysts estimated that the delayed restart would likely cost Anglo American US$400mln in lost earnings.
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Excluding the Minas Rio troubles, overall copper equivalent production across the company’s other projects rose by 1% when set against the corresponding period a year ago.
And stripping out the other metals, copper production itself was up by 17%
Elsewhere, diamond production decreased by 5% to 8.7mln carats as grades dropped at the massive Jwaneng mine.
Metallurgical coal production decreased by 3% to 5.4mln tonnes, but thermal coal export production increased by 13% to 7.7mln tonnes, reflecting solid operational improvements at the company’s coal assets.
Platinum production rose.
"Our focus on driving efficiency and productivity across the business resulted in another strong quarter, with volumes 1% higher than the solid operational performance seen in Q3 2017,” said Mark Cutifani, Anglo’s chief executive.
“Production per employee has increased by 5% in 2018, compared to 2017, as we maintain relentless discipline on controllable costs. Strong operational performance at our copper assets delivered a 17% increase in production, more than offsetting planned lower volumes at De Beers and the impact of rail infrastructure constraints at Kumba in the first half of the year."