Archive | Anglo American

Platinum Giants Bolster Positions Before Wage Talks Begin – by Felix Njini (Bloomberg/Yahoo – July 8, 2019)

July 9, 2019 in Africa Mining, Anglo American, International Media Resource Articles, Platinum Group Metals

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — When the world’s biggest platinum miners sit down to hammer out a wage deal with one of South Africa’s most militant labor unions this week, they’ll hold two potentially winning cards in reserve: the cash and metal stockpiles to endure a strike.

Those buffers may prove crucial as Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and Sibanye Gold Ltd. meet with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union on successive days from July 9.

While the producers will be conscious that AMCU led the country’s longest ever platinum mining strike in 2014, none can meet its demand for a pay increase of as much as 48% without undermining their businesses. Continue Reading →

Mineweb: Anglo’s seen the future of mining, and it looks a lot like farming – by Ciaran Ryan (Money Web.com – June 24, 2019)

June 24, 2019 in Africa Mining, Anglo American, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines, Mining Environmental, Water Shortage and Land Reclamation/Revegetation Issues

https://www.moneyweb.co.za/

The sector has to clean up its act while still making a profit – and it’s a race the group intends to win.

Addressing analysts in London recently, Anglo technical director Tony O’Neill outlined a vision of the future where mines will be similar to farms.

Virtually all mining activity, including the extraction of minerals, leaching and processing will take place below ground. Rock cutting will be done without vibration and only material of value will be brought to the surface. No more convoys of trucks or surface conveyor belts delivering material to the processing plant, no more mechanical shovels scarring the countryside.

On the surface, you may see green fields, cows, and perhaps a wind turbine or two and some solar panels. Surplus power generated by the mines will be supplied to local communities. Exploration will be done by satellite and minimal use made of water. Perhaps even no water at all. Continue Reading →

Mineweb: Anglo American through the ages – by Ciaran Ryan (Money Web.com – June 13, 2019)

June 24, 2019 in Africa Mining, Anglo American, Global Mining History, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Company History

https://www.moneyweb.co.za/

It launched South Africa’s industrial age to support its mining activities, but since 2012 has halved the number of its assets. Where to now?

When the EFF’s Julius Malema talks of white minority capital, he is referring of course to Johann Rupert and the Oppenheimers for the most part. These are the families that helped build South Africa and, for better or worse, guided its political discourse in a direction favourable to their business interests.

Anglo American founder Ernest Oppenheimer would be hard put to recognise the group he founded in 1917. By the 1980s it accounted for a staggering 25% of SA’s GDP and owned an estimated 60% of the JSE – the result of an international embargo that forced SA companies to reinvest profits locally, turning the JSE into an incestuous and distended bubble.

The group that built its castle on diamonds and gold in southern Africa is now a very different animal. Since 2012, it has halved its number of assets, but now delivers 30% more product from each retained asset. Continue Reading →

The Global Diamond Glut Worsens – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg/Yahoo Finance – May 21, 2019)

May 21, 2019 in Anglo American, Diamond Mining, International Media Resource Articles

https://finance.yahoo.com/

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De Beers’s diamond sales plunged to the lowest since 2017 in the company’s latest offering, underlining a slump in the industry worldwide.

Sales by the Anglo American Plc unit dropped 25% from a year ago to $415 million, and were down 29% from an offering last month. It’s often a quieter time of the year because the industry has already restocked after the key holiday period, but total sales so far in 2019 are still much weaker than in previous years. Continue Reading →

‘Require, Not Ask’ for Women in Mining, Urges Ex-Anglo Chief – by Krystal Chia (Bloomberg News – May 9, 2019)

May 9, 2019 in Anglo American, International Media Resource Articles, Women in Mining

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Mining is not only for men. Companies have to do more to push gender diversity, according to Cynthia Carroll, former chief executive officer of Anglo American Plc.

“Companies should require, not ask that executives promote, recruit and include women,” Carroll said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference in Singapore. Heading the miner from 2007 to 2013, Carroll was Anglo American’s first female chief executive, and now sits on the boards of a few companies, including Hitachi Ltd.

Mining remains male-dominated. In a survey of 30 companies, the Responsible Mining Foundation found “little or no evidence of efforts” to strengthen the gender balance of their leadership and governance teams. Continue Reading →

Big Four miners languish amid demand, ESG, capex concerns – by Barbara Lewis and Simon Jessop (Reuters U.S. – May 8, 2019)

May 8, 2019 in Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s biggest diversified miners have yet to see their share prices reflect their role as providers of the minerals needed for a shift to a low-carbon economy.

Mining companies provide minerals such as cobalt used in electric vehicle batteries and copper for increased electrification, and the sector’s balance sheets are in rude health.

Still, many investors are wary. Concerns include the demand outlook from China, the world’s biggest consumer of metals; the sector’s history of wasting shareholders’ money on mergers and acquisitions that never deliver returns; and a patchy record on environmental, social and governance-related (ESG) issues. Continue Reading →

Anglo American says tech overhaul to boost productivity by 30 percent – by Dave Sherwood and Fabian Cambero (Reuters U.S. – April 8, 2019)

April 9, 2019 in Anglo American, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Latin America Mining

https://www.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Anglo American, one of the world’s top miners, says productivity could jump by as much as a third at its Chilean copper mines within three years as it rolls out new technologies, the head of the company’s copper division said in an interview.

Copper chief Hennie Faul said Anglo American was re-tooling its smaller, lower output El Soldado mine in central Chile this year for use as an experimental technology center, allowing it to conduct full-scale testing of new products and ideas in real-time.

“This is not just incremental. It can have increases in productivity of between 20 to 30 percent,” he said, adding the technologies were still in the testing stage and that their effectiveness would vary by deposit. Continue Reading →

Anglo’s Cutifani expresses confidence in iron ore tailings technology at Minas Rio – by David McKay (MiningMX – February 12, 2019)

February 13, 2019 in Anglo American, International Media Resource Articles, Iron Ore, Latin America Mining, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines, Vale

MiningMX

THE Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil on January 25 could have some far-reaching consequences, but Anglo American CEO, Mark Cutifani, said that the impact on the group’s own activities in the country would be limited.

Brumadinho is the place where Brazil’s state-owned mining company, Vale, operates its Feijao iron ore mine which, in turn, is part of the Paraopeba complex. The complex produced 26.2 million tonnes (Mt) of iron ore in Vale’s 2017 financial year, representing 7% of its total output.

It’s the second major tailings dam burst disaster in just over two years in Brazil. In the previous event, a tailings facility burst at Samarco – an operation owned by Vale in joint venture with BHP. Some 19 lives were lost. Continue Reading →

Mining’s Biggest Jobs Are Up for Grabs. Here Are the Contenders – by Thomas Biesheuvel, Jack Farchy and David Stringer (Bloomberg News – January 16, 2019)

January 16, 2019 in Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Who will lead BHP, Anglo American and Glencore into the next decade?

Some of the mining world’s top executives are starting to plan their departures, driving speculation about who will lead their companies into the next decade.

The changing of the guard raises the prospect of a strategic shift, as the industry searches for ways to enthuse investors after a belt-tightening era characterized by asset sales and cost control. Here, based on conversations with executives, investors and industry decision makers, are some of the key names to watch.

BHP Group

There has been near-constant speculation for years around the future of BHP Group CEO Andrew Mackenzie. By 2017, the chatter was so loud that the new chairman’s first meeting with the press was preceded by a statement backing his CEO. Continue Reading →

Anglo American begins quest to unearth next CEO – by Clara Denina and Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.K. – January 15, 2019)

January 16, 2019 in Anglo American, International Media Resource Articles

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Anglo American (AAL.L) has promoted a section head it considers to have CEO potential, focusing its attention on internal talent as it begins searching for a successor to the man who steered the mining company through the 2015-16 commodities price slump.

CEO Mark Cutifani has won plaudits for his stewardship since taking the helm in 2013, though his strategic ability has been questioned in some quarters despite Anglo shares climbing around 12 percent last year, outperforming London-listed peers including Glencore (GLEN.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L)(RIO.AX).

Analysts say that Cutifani deserves credit for driving efficiency but some remain critical of a decision to halt debt-reducing asset disposals, even though this helped the company to benefit from the upturn in prices for commodities such as iron ore and coal. Continue Reading →

Anglo American management shake-up sees Brazil-based CEO replaced – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – January 3, 2019)

January 4, 2019 in Anglo American, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Latin America Mining

http://www.mining.com/

Global miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) announced Thursday changes at the top that will see Ruben Fernandes, chief executive officer of the company in Brazil, being replaced by mining veteran Wilfred (Bill) Bruijn, effective March 1.

Fernandes, who has led Anglo’s iron ore and nickel interests in the South American country for almost three years, will become CEO of Base Metals. That position is currently held by Duncan Wanblad, who will now focus solely on his role as Group Director of Strategy and Business Development, the group said in a statement.

During his management, Fernandes dealt with an eight-month stoppage at the company’s giant Minas Rio iron ore mine, located in the Brazilian resource-rich state of Minas Gerais. Operations there were halted in March last year, following the discovery of leaks in a pipeline that carried ore to a port in Rio de Janeiro for export. Continue Reading →

Anglo forecasts copper, diamonds and platinum to lift output – by Noor Zainab Hussain and Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – December 2018)

December 12, 2018 in Anglo American, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

BENGALURU/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Anglo American said on Tuesday its overall production will rise by more than previously expected between 2018 and 2021, while this year’s costs are forecast to be lower.

Anglo said in an update to investors and analysts that 2018 production will be 2 percent higher than its previous forecast, driven by increases in copper, diamonds and platinum group metals, while costs will be 5 percent below earlier guidance.

The company, whose products also include coal, nickel and iron ore said it expected a 3 percent rise in production in 2019 and a further 5 percent boost in both 2020 and 2021, lifting its share price, which was one of the biggest gainers on London’s blue chip index. Continue Reading →

Anglo Finds Returns Outweigh Risks as It Renews Africa Focus – by Felix Njini (Bloomberg News – November 7, 2018)

November 7, 2018 in Africa Mining, Anglo American, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) — Anglo American Plc is going where larger rivals fear to tread, returning to its African roots to tap mineral assets with compelling returns.

The storied mining company, founded by Ernest Oppenheimer in Johannesburg a century ago, is devoting a third of its exploration budget to the continent, including searching for copper and cobalt in Angola and Zambia. In South Africa, it’s investing in platinum, diamond and iron-ore mines that are spitting out cash.

The London-based company is betting that Africa can deliver a portfolio of new ore bodies, even as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group largely shun the continent and focus on returning cash to shareholders. It’s a reversal of Anglo’s almost two-decade retreat from a continent that long weighed on its shares, but the miner retains a higher tolerance for risk in what used to be its backyard. Continue Reading →

Copper mines put Anglo American on track for strong 2018 – by Allan Seccombe (Business Day – October 23, 2018)

October 24, 2018 in Anglo American, Copper, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.businesslive.co.za/

After a standout performance in its copper division in the September quarter and positive performances across the bulk of its other businesses so far in 2018, Anglo American lined itself up for a strong 2018 by meeting its production targets.

Anglo, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, reported quarterly falls in diamond, iron ore and metallurgical coal production for the three months to end-September compared to a year ago, but these were offset by an outstanding performance from its copper mines.

“Strong operational performance at our copper assets delivered a 17% increase in production, more than offsetting planned lower volumes at De Beers and the impact of rail infrastructure constraints at Kumba in the first half of the year,” Anglo CEO Mark Cutifani said, referring to JSE-listed Kumba Iron Ore, Africa’s largest iron ore miner. Continue Reading →

The Real Cash Cow in Mining Isn’t Metals. It’s Bad Old Coal – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – October 10, 2018)

October 10, 2018 in Anglo American, Coal, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.bloomberg.com/

For all the bullish talk about metals of the future, miners are making some of their biggest profits from heavy-industry stalwart coal.

Base metals from copper to zinc have tumbled this year, caught up as a proxy for trade fears and emerging market jitters. Meanwhile, coal has ground steadily upwards, supported by strong demand from top commodities user China, and is trading near the highest in more than six years.

That’s translating into big paydays for producers. Glencore Plc is in touching distance of seeing its coal mining profits eclipse copper earnings this year for the first time since it sold shares in London in 2011. Continue Reading →