Anglo American metallurgical coal production down by 11% in Q3 2021

Export metallurgical coal production decreased by 11% to 4.3 million tonnes due to operations at Moranbah being impacted by challenging geological conditions for most of the quarter.

This was partly offset by Dawson and Capcoal increasing production levels after having scaled back production volumes since mid-2020 in response to reduced demand for their particular products.

Development activities at Grosvenor continue as part of the mine’s staged approach to restarting longwall mining operations towards the end of 2021, subject to the approval of the Queensland Mines Inspectorate, with the first development coal washed in September.

The ratio of hard coking coal production to PCI/semi-soft coking coal was 83:17, slightly higher than in Q3 2020 (82:18), due to solid performance at Grasstree and the mine sequence at Dawson and Capcoal.

The year to date average realised price for hard coking coal was $149/tonne, lower than the benchmark price of $177/tonne as sales for the year have consisted of a lower proportion of premium quality hard coking coal from Moranbah and Grosvenor.

FULL YEAR GUIDANCE

Production guidance is unchanged at 14-16 million tonnes, subject to the extent of any Covid-19 related disruption.