Anglo American: Nickel dropped by 9%, Manganese down by 11%

Anglo American has admitted that its Nickel production decreased by 9% to 10,600 tonnes, due to licensing delays (received in late Q4) and heavy rainfall experienced in the quarter, which has resulted in lower grade ore from stockpiles being fed into the plant.

Production guidance for 2022 is 40,000-42,000 tonnes, subject to the extent of further Covid-19 related disruptions.

Manganese ore production decreased by 11% to 834,600 tonnes, primarily due to planned lower yield from the area mined and the impact of Covid-19 related disruptions at the Australian operation.

There was no manganese alloy production as the South African smelter has been on care and maintenance since the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. During Q4 2021, an agreement was entered into to divest the Metalloys business and that transaction is expected to complete during 2022.