| Tue 20 Dec 2011, 17:00 | | AGL - Anglo American plc - Anglo American delivers third major growth project in |
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AGL
ANAAL
AGL - Anglo American plc - Anglo American delivers third major growth project in
2011
Anglo American plc ("the Company")
Incorporated in the United Kingdom
(Registration number: 3564138)
Short name: Anglo
Share code: AGL
ISIN number: GB00B1XZS820
Anglo American delivers third major growth project in 2011
Anglo American announces the successful commissioning of the third of its four
major growth projects during 2011, delivering on the company`s strategic plan to
drive substantial organic volume growth from approved projects across its copper
(+43%), nickel (+180%) and iron ore (+80%) businesses.
The commissioning of Kolomela - a new 9 Mtpa iron ore mine in South Africa`s
Northern Cape - follows the delivery of the 36,000 tpa Barro Alto nickel project
in Brazil in March 2011 and the expansion to double production from the Los
Bronces copper mine in Chile in November 2011. Kolomela has been commissioned
five months ahead of schedule, on budget and has shipped its first product from
the port of Saldanha to customers in China.
Chris Griffith, CEO of Anglo American`s Kumba Iron Ore business, said: "The
first shipment of 100,000 tons of Kolomela lump ore left the port of Saldanha on
19 December 2011 on its journey to the port of Qingdao in China, from where it
will be sold to Kumba`s existing customers. This shipment is a significant
milestone towards achieving the production ramp-up schedule of 4-5 million
tonnes in 2012 and the expectation of reaching full production of 9 Mtpa in
2013. The commissioning of the Kolomela project is in line with our growth
strategy of ramping our South African production up to 70 Mtpa by 2019."
Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: "The commissioning of
Kolomela five months ahead of schedule is a remarkable achievement and caps a
year of successful major project delivery for Anglo American. Three of our four
major projects are now ramping up to produce significant near term volume growth
at highly competitive operating costs and capital intensity ratios. Our focus
now is on achieving safe and reliable nameplate capacities across these three
new operations, on continuing to progress our Minas-Rio iron ore project in
Brazil - which with Kolomela and Sishen will enable us to present customers with
product optionality from different geographies - and on advancing our other
approved and pre-approval projects, such as Grosvenor in Australia and
Quellaveco in Peru."
The fourth and largest of Anglo American`s major projects - Minas-Rio - has made
very significant progress. Minas-Rio has secured a number of major licences and
permits during the year; the offshore and onshore works at the port are on
schedule; more than 90% of land access has been secured along the 525km pipeline
route and almost 200km of pipe has been installed; and the civil works at the
beneficiation plant are well under way. As with other complex greenfield mining
projects, a number of irregular issues, such as the discovery of caves at the
beneficiation plant site which require specialised assessment, continue to cause
delays to the work scheduling, in addition to outstanding land access and an
evolving permitting environment. Anglo American is reviewing the budgetary
impact, is taking appropriate cost mitigation measures and expects to contain
the capital increase to approximately 15% of current capital expenditure
guidance in what is a high inflationary environment in the Brazilian mining
industry. First ore on ship is unchanged and targeted for the second half of
2013.
Notes to editors:
Anglo American 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 bulk commodities - iron ore and
manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal; base metals - copper and nickel;
and precious metals and minerals - in which it is a global leader in both
platinum and diamonds. 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
For further information, please contact:
Media Investors
UK UK
James Wyatt-Tilby Leng Lau
Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 8759 Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 8540
Caroline Crampton (nee Metcalfe)
Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 2192
Leisha Wemyss
Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 8607
20 December 2011
Sponsor: UBS South Africa (Pty) Ltd
Date: 20/12/2011 17:00:24 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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