Sishen mine
Photo by: Nadine James
Although rail constraints resulted in a reduction in export sales for Kumba Iron Ore during the third quarter ended September 30, the Anglo American subsidiary remains on track to meet its full-year guidance of producing between 43-million and 44-million tonnes of iron-ore.
The iron-ore miner on Tuesday said it had reduced its production volumes by 9% year-on-year to 10.5-million tonnes in the third quarter to offset elevated stock levels arising from rail constraints in the first half of this year.
Production volumes were also impacted on by the slight decrease in processing plant yields as Kumba focused on producing high-quality products to maximise the value of tonnes railed to port and benefit from the strong demand for high-grade ore.
Production at Sishen decreased by 10% year-on-year to seven-million tonnes, while output at Kolomela decreased by 6% year-on-year to 3.5-million tonnes.
Waste stripping at Sishen increased by 7% to 45-million tonnes but remained flat at Kolomela.
Export sales decreased by 10% to 9.7-million tonnes as a result of scheduled refurbishment by State-owned Transnet.
Kumba noted that the scheduled refurbishment of the ship loaders at Saldanha Bay also resulted in single loading during the quarter.
Total finished stock increased to 6.6-millon tonnes from 6.2-million tonnes at the end of the second quarter.