Anglo American 2022 production down 3%

Anglo American on Friday said 2022 production had fallen by around 3% as the Quellaveco copper ramp-up and strong diamond production was offset by ore grades in Chile and lower production from Kumba and platinum group metals.

Duncan Wanblad, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: "This year has seen us focus on our immediate priorities of safety and restoring normal operational disciplines given the pandemic related disruptions of the last few years.”

“In 2022, these have been added to by geopolitically-led economic volatility, and extreme weather and other localised disruptions at our operations.

"As we have built operational momentum in the second half, we have also moderated our near-term production growth plans with a clear priority to deliver a stable platform from which to build strengthened and repeatable performance.”

Anglo said 2022 unit costs were up around 16% and it guided for capital expenditure of around $5.7bn after supply chain disruptions and foreign exchange.

The mining giant forecast a 5% rise in 2023 with capex forecast at $6-$6.5bn. In 2024, production was expected to increase 5%, with capex forecast at $5.5-$6bn.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com