Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) has restarted operations at its Minas-Rio iron ore operation in Brazil after the discovery of two leaks in a slurry pipeline earlier in the year led to a shutdown.
The FTSE 100-listed miner said it expected the operation to ramp up to 1.2mln tonnes per month on a wet basis and to produce approximately 16mln-19mln tonnes of iron ore in 2019.
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The group said Minas-Rio is expected to report an underlying EBITDA loss of US$320mln for 2018, compared to guidance of a loss of US$300mln-US$400mln.
It added that the restart follows an extensive and detailed technical inspection of the 529km pipeline that carries iron ore from the mine to the port, the pre-emptive repair of certain sections of the pipeline, and receipt of the appropriate regulatory approvals.
Anglo American said: "The inspection of the entire pipeline by specialist pipeline inspection devices (PIGs), and the analysis of the collected data by expert teams drawn from Brazil and internationally, confirmed the pipeline's integrity.”