JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified major Anglo American’s iron-ore production for the three months ended December 31, from its subsidiary Kumba Iron Ore, increased by 25% year-on-year to 11.3-million tons, while the miner’s copper production also increased by 24% to a record 214 400 t.

Anglo said in its fourth-quarter production report that the year-on-year increase in production from Kumba mostly owing to strike action having impacted the iron-ore producer’s production during the fourth quarter of 2012.

“Production at the Sishen mine, in the Northern Cape, increased by 39% to 8.4-million tons, as production recovered following the impact of the unprotected strike in the fourth quarter of 2012, and by 31% compared with the previous quarter owing to the Section 54 regulatory safety stoppages in August 2013,” the mining company said.

For the full year, production at Sishen decreased by 8% to 30.9-million tons.

Further, production at Anglo’s Kolomela mine, in the Northern Cape, only decreased marginally by 2% to 2.7-million tons during the period under review, despite a planned maintenance stoppage in December.

The mine’s full-year production increased by 26% to 10.8-million tons, with technical studies having confirmed that the mine had the capacity to sustain production at ten-million tons a year for the life-of-mine, which was one-million tons above the original design capacity.

Meanwhile, continued strong performance at Anglo’s Los Bronces mine and higher grades at its Collahuasi operation, both of which were in Chile, led to record quarterly copper production.

Production at Los Bronces increased by 16% to 110 000 t owing to continued strong throughput performance.

Reduced mine congestion and debottlenecking at the mine’s primary crushers had improved continuity of ore supply and throughput at both processing plants, while improvements implemented in the Confluencia milling and flotation processes also resulted in higher recoveries.

Production from Collahuasi doubled to 64 800 t. This significant increase reflected the lower grades, a ball mill breakdown and SAG 3 mill underperformance during 2012. 

Following the SAG 3 stator motor replacement and repowering in the second quarter of 2013, mill throughput continued to increase, with performance for the quarter in line with expected capacity.  Production also benefitted from higher than planned grades, Anglo said.

Meanwhile, the miner’s export metallurgical coal production increased by 3% to 4.7-million tons during the quarter, owing to sustained longwall productivity improvements, while export thermal coal production increased by 8% to 7.9-million tons.

Export thermal coal production from South Africa decreased by 1% to 4.6-million tons and domestic thermal coal production for State-owned power utility Eskom decreased by 11% to 7.6-million tons as a result of wet weather interruptions, a longwall stoppage at the New Denmark colliery, in Mpumalanga, and lower demand from the New Vaal colliery, in the Free State. 

Non-Eskom domestic thermal coal production decreased by 23% to 1.2-million tons because of wet weather interruptions at Anglo’s wholly-owned Isibonelo colliery, 120 km from Johannesburg.

Meanwhile, coal production from its Cerrejón operation, in Colombia, increased by 24% to 3.3-million tons, maintaining the strong recovery following the strike in the first quarter of 2013.

Further, Anglo’s nickel production for the quarter increased by 38% to 10 200 t, while niobium production increased by 20% to 1 200 t and fertiliser production increased by 2%.

The company’s platinum equivalent refined production also increased by 25% to 520 300 oz, with diamond production increasing by 13% to 9.1-million carats. This was primarily as a result of increased output from the Jwaneng mine, in Botswana, following recovery after the slope failure in June 2012, together with higher grades at the Orapa and Venetia operations, in Botswana and Limpopo respectively.

Anglo would be announcing its preliminary results for the full year to December 31 on February 14.