Anglo American plc Production Report for the second quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Anglo American has reported it delivered another strong quarter across both Copper and Premium Iron Ore, with performance tracking well to plan.
In Copper, both Collahuasi and Quellaveco increased production from the first quarter, while the restart of the second plant at Los Bronces continues to provide incremental profitable production.
In Premium Iron Ore, Kumba and Minas-Rio maintained stable operational performances. As the conflict in the Middle East continues to cause global market volatility, Anglo American is beginning to see some inflationary pressures primarily through higher fuel and other mining consumables.
Its supply chain is actively managing these input costs and it has benefited from strong by-product credits in Copper in the first half of the year. This and strong cost control has driven a reduction in Anglo American unit cost guidance for Copper Chile to c.210 c/lb (previously c.230 c/lb) and Copper Peru to c.65 c/lb (previously c.100 c/lb).
Duncan Wanblad, CEO of Anglo American, said: “Our portfolio optimisation gained further momentum during the quarter. In May we announced an agreement to sell our Steelmaking Coal business in Australia to Dhilmar for up to $3.875 billion in cash, with completion expected by the first quarter of 2027. We are also progressing the sale process for De Beers, while concurrently advancing streamlining opportunities to improve cost performance and reduce capital expenditure to minimise the impact from challenging diamond markets. For the agreed sale of our Nickel business, we are continuing to work through the European Commission’s anti-trust approval process.
“Our merger with Teck is on track to form a copper-focused global metals and minerals champion, with the expected completion window of September 2026 to March 2027 unchanged. We continue to progress towards completion, with anti-trust approval from China the final outstanding regulatory milestone. While both companies will operate entirely separately until completion, integration planning is well advanced, focused on ensuring that once the transaction closes we will be well positioned to begin the work to realise the material value and synergies we have identified from Anglo Teck.”
Q2 2026 overview
- Copper production was flat at 173,200 tonnes, primarily due to higher throughput at Los Bronces, offset by processing lower-grade stockpile ore at Collahuasi and the anticipated lower grades at Quellaveco.
- Premium iron ore production decreased by 3% to 15.4 million tonnes, primarily due to planned plant maintenance at Kumba and the impact of lower ore grade and mass recovery at Minas-Rio.
- Manganese ore production increased by 22% to 908,300 tonnes, reflecting higher operating levels following the impacts of a tropical cyclone in Australia which affected the comparative period.
- Rough diamond production increased by 88% to 7.8 million carats, primarily driven by extended maintenance at Orapa which affected the comparative quarter and planned higher-grade ore at both Jwaneng and Gahcho Kué.
- Steelmaking coal production was broadly flat at 2.0 million tonnes, primarily driven by expected difficult strata conditions at Aquila offset by the ramp-up of Moranbah North.
- Nickel production decreased by 4% to 9,100 tonnes, reflecting maintenance at Barro Alto and Codemin.
- Production and unit cost guidance remains unchanged for 2026, except for lower Copper Chile unit costs of c.210 c/lb (previously c.230 c/lb) and Copper Peru unit costs of c.65 c/lb (previously c.100 c/lb). Overall, Copper unit cost guidance is revised lower to c.145 c/lb (previously c.172 c/lb).
