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KIO
KIO
KIO - Kumba Iron Ore Limited - Production and sales report for the quarter ended
31 March 2011
Kumba Iron Ore Limited
A member of the Anglo American plc group
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 2005/015852/06)
JSE Share code: KIO
ISIN: ZAE000085346
KUMBA IRON ORE LIMITED PRODUCTION AND SALES REPORT FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 31
MARCH 2011
Kumba Iron Ore Limited ("Kumba") today released its production and sales report
for the quarter ended 31 March 2011. Throughout this report, production and
sales volumes referred to are 100% attributable to Kumba.
Overview:
- 23% decrease in production to 8.8Mt (million metric tonnes) mainly due to
mining constraints caused by wet pit conditions, resulting from excessive
rainfall at all operations.
- Total sales of 10.4Mt decreased by only 5% as the reduction in saleable
production during the quarter was supplemented by sales from finished product
stockpiles.
- Export sales volumes of 8.6Mt decreased by 8% mainly as a result of shipments
being impacted by lower production volumes.
- Total domestic sales volumes of 1.3Mt increased by 10% as demand from
ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (AMSA) increased.
Production summary
`000 tonnes Quarter % Quarter % change
ended change ended
Mar Mar Mar Q11 Dec Mar Q11
2011 2010 vs 2010 vs
Mar Q10 Dec Q10
Total 8 794 11 489 (23) 10 706 (18)
- Sishen Mine 8 548 11 006 (22) 10 206 (16)
DMS plant 5 741 7 678 (25) 6 833 (16)
Jig plant 2 807 3 328 (16) 3 373 (17)
- Thabazimbi 246 483 (49) 500 (51)
Mine
Sales summary
`000 tonnes Quarter % Quarter % change
ended change ended
Mar Mar Mar Q11 Dec Mar Q11
2011 2010 vs 2010 vs
Dec Q10 Dec Q10
Total 10 383 10 932 (5) 10 701 (3)
- Sishen Mine 9 821 10 464 (6) 10 362 (5)
Export sales 8 557 9 315 (8) 8 978 (5)
Domestic 1 264 1 149 10 1 384 (9)
sales
- Thabazimbi 562 468 20 339 66
Mine
Kumba`s operating performance during Q1 2011 was impacted by excessive rainfall
at Sishen, Kolomela and Thabazimbi Mines. This resulted in wet pit conditions
that hampered mining activities and plant throughput. With twice the annual
rainfall recorded during the first two months of 2011, production at Sishen Mine
of 8.5Mt declined by 2.5Mt when compared with Q1 2010. Sishen Mine`s DMS and Jig
plants` production were down 1.9Mt and 0.5Mt respectively, due to the inability
of the mining equipment to safely access the mining areas and wet feedstock
material that caused blockages in the plants. Production at Thabazimbi Mine
reached 246Kt (kilotonnes), a decrease of 237Kt, mainly as a result of the
impact of the unusually heavy rainfall and the flooded Crocodile River that
hampered access to the main pit. Production is planned to decrease in 2011 at
Thabazimbi Mine as it nears the end of its life and AMSA`s supply is
supplemented from finished product stockpiles.
Volumes railed on the Sishen-Saldanha Iron Ore Export Channel, which included
finished product stock at Sishen Mine, increased by 3% to 9.7Mt. The lower
production from Sishen Mine during the quarter coupled with the increase in
volumes railed, resulted in a net 1.7Mt decrease in the stock level at Sishen
Mine to 2.7Mt. With 1.7Mt of stock at the port of Saldanha and 1.2Mt at the
Qingdao port in China, Kumba has reduced its stockpile levels from 7.1Mt at the
end of Q1 2010 to 5.8Mt at the end of Q1 2011.
Export sales volumes from Sishen Mine reached 8.6Mt, a decrease of 0.8Mt mainly
as a result of shipments being impacted by lower production volumes. South
African domestic sales volumes from Sishen and Thabazimbi Mines reached 1.8Mt,
an increase of 0.2Mt as demand from AMSA recovered further.
The 9Mt per annum Kolomela project remains on budget and on schedule to deliver
first production towards the end of the first half of 2012, ramping up to full
capacity in 2013.
Kumba reiterates that production is expected to remain stable in 2011 when
compared with 2010 levels. Despite the decline in operational performance during
Q1 2011, management has implemented focused plans to recover the shortfall in
production by the end of 2011.
For further information, please contact:
Esha Brijmohan
Investor Relations Analyst
Tel: +27 (0)12 683 7257 / +27 (0) 83 488 9427
Email: Esha.brijmohan@kioltd.com
Notes to editors:
Kumba, a member of the Anglo American plc group, is a leading value-adding
supplier of high quality iron ore to the global steel industry. Kumba produces
iron ore in South Africa at Sishen Mine in the Northern Cape Province and at
Thabazimbi Mine in the Limpopo Province and is currently developing a new mine,
Kolomela Mine in the Northern Cape Province which will commence production
towards the end of the first half of 2012 and reach full production of 9Mtpa in
2013.
In 2010 Kumba exported 36.1Mt of superior iron ore to customers in a range of
geographical locations around the globe including China, Japan, Korea and a
number of countries in Europe and the Middle East.
www.angloamericankumba.com
Anglo American plc is one of the world`s largest mining companies, is
headquartered in the UK and listed on the London and Johannesburg stock
exchanges. Anglo American`s portfolio of mining businesses spans precious metals
and minerals - in which it is a global leader in both platinum and diamonds;
base metals - copper and nickel; and bulk commodities - iron ore, metallurgical
coal and thermal coal. Anglo American is committed to the highest standards of
safety and responsibility across all its businesses and geographies and to
making a sustainable difference in the development of the communities around its
operations. The company`s mining operations and extensive pipeline of growth
projects are located in southern Africa, South America, Australia, North America
and Asia.
www.angloamerican.com
Centurion
21 April 2011
Sponsor
RAND MERCHANT BANK (A division of FirstRand Bank Limited)
Date: 21/04/2011 08:00:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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