Anglo American welcomed an increase in production in 2023 as it announced plans to expand in 2024.
The company boosted production by two per cent across its operations in 2023, and increased its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBIDTA) by 31 per cent to $US10 billion ($16 billion).
Though Anglo saw a 13 per cent dip in revenue, the company cited a cyclical downturn in in platinum group metals (PGMs) and diamonds.
“Against that backdrop, we are reducing annual run rate costs by $1 billion and capital spend by $1.6 billion over the next three years, while also cutting out unprofitable volumes,” Anglo chief executive officer Duncan Wanblad said.
“We have also this week set out the difficult but necessary reconfigurations of our PGMs and Kumba operations to set them up on a far more sustainable footing, building on the recent 25 per cent cost reduction from our consolidation of senior head office roles.”
Turning its attention to the year ahead, Anglo announced it has agreed to acquire and integrate Vale SA’s contiguous Serra da Serpentina iron ore resource into its Minas-Rio mine in Brazil.
The company said it will continue to control, manage and operate the Minas-Rio operation, including any future expansions that relate to Serpentina.
“The opportunity to partner with Vale to secure a high-quality iron ore resource of this scale and quality, right next door to Minas-Rio, is compelling – particularly given all the physical synergies of our mining and processing infrastructure to create a single optimised operation, combined with the option to access Vale’s rail and port logistics,” Wanblad said.
“The sheer scale and quality of the Serpentina orebody offers significant value, including through the scope to expand the production of the premium grade pellet feed products we sell to steelmaking customers as they focus on decarbonising their own processes for decades to come.”