JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The copper production of diversified mining company Anglo American increased by 42% in the third quarter owing to the ramping up of the new Quellaveco copper mine in Peru.

However, this was offset by rough diamond production decreasing by 23% and steelmaking coal production decreasing by 21%.

Moreover, nickel production was down 7% on lower grades and planned plant maintenance at the Minas-Rio iron-ore operation in Brazil put overall iron-ore production at a 4% lower level than the corresponding period of last year.

Now, the focus of the London- and Johannesburg-listed company is on delivering full-year production guidance in line with a planned stronger second half, CE Duncan Wanblad emphasised in a release to Mining Weekly.

Rough diamond production’s fall to 7.4-million carats was the result of planned reduction at South Africa’s Venetia diamond mine transitioning underground in Limpopo, as well as diamond production in Botswana decreasing by 12% to 5.8-million carats owing to planned maintenance at the Orapa diamond mine.

South Africa’s rough output was a 78%-lower 0.4-million carats and Canada’s a 9%-lower 0.7-million carats, while production in Namibia remained flat.

Full-year rough diamond production guidance is unchanged at 30-million to 33-million carats at $75/ct at a time when De Beers' rough diamond inventory continues to build owing to weaker market sentiment.

The fall of steelmaking coal production to 4.4-million tonnes at the Moranbah longwall operation and the ramping up of Grosvenor in Australia were partially offset by higher production from the opencast Capcoal and Aquila longwall.

Production guidance for 2023 is 16-million to 19-million tonnes at $105/t.

Manganese ore production in South Africa was a 4% higher 1 012 100 t on improved mining equipment reliability.

Third-quarter exploration and evaluation expenditure was broadly flat at $90-million. Exploration expenditure was a 5%-lower $38-million and evaluation expenditure was up 11% at $52-million, mainly on higher evaluation expenditure on platinum group metals and steelmaking coal.

Amid copper production’s third-quarter rise to 209 100 t with the help of the 42% rise at Quellaveco was a 9% rise at Collahuasi, a 5% rise at El Soldado, both in Chile, where recent heavy rainfall will reduce the need for alternative sources of water over the next couple of quarters. Towards the end of 2025, more than 45% of Los Bronces' needs will be met through a desalinated water supply.

Production guidance for 2023 is revised to a lower 830 000 t to 870 000 t with unit cost guidance for 2023 unchanged at 166 c/lb.