South32 maintains production guidance, invests in base metals growth

South32 Chief Executive Officer, Matt Daley: “We’ve made a positive start to FY27, maintaining production guidance across all our operations and achieving key development milestones for our copper and zinc growth projects.

“Sierra Gorda increased payable copper equivalent production by 11 per cent on higher planned copper grades and paid a record quarterly distribution of US$153 million. Sierra Gorda also commenced execution of the fourth grinding line project, which is expected to increase processing [capacity by 25 per cent, increasing our exposure to copper.”

Manganese had a strong start to the year, with production increasing by 14 per cent as Australia Manganese benefitted from improved operating conditions following the wet season and South Africa Manganese lifted underground productivity at Wessels.

“At Cannington, we successfully processed lower-grade stockpiles to mitigate lower mining rates caused by a temporary reduction in paste backfill availability. We expect upgrades to the paste delivery system to support higher mining rates over the remainder of FY27, with continued processing of lower-grade stockpiles providing additional mill feed.

“At Hermosa, we continued construction of underground and surface infrastructure for the Taylor zinc-lead-silver project and achieved a significant permitting milestone with completion of the federal permitting process under FAST-41.

On 15 October, South32 shareholders approved the sale of our aluminium value chain assets to Alcoa. The transaction remains on track for completion in the June 2027 half year, subject to relevant regulatory approvals, and will reposition South32 as a leading upstream base metals focused company with high-margin assets and transformational growth.

FY27 production guidance remains unchanged across all operations.

• Net cash increased by US$14M to US$297M as the company received a distribution of US$153M from Sierra Gorda (South32 share), continued its investment in growth at Hermosa, and experienced a temporary build in working capital.
• Sierra Gorda payable copper equivalent production increased by 11%, as higher planned copper grades more than offset temporary wet weather impacts during the quarter.
• Cannington payable zinc equivalent production decreased by 27%, as a temporary reduction in paste backfill availability delayed access to planned stopes, while the company maintained ore processed by supplementing mill feed with lower-grade stockpiles.
• Manganese production increased by 14%, with Australia Manganese realising higher plant utilisation as wet weather subsided.
• Alumina production increased by 1%, with both refineries operating near nameplate capacity.
• Aluminium production was largely unchanged as Hillside Aluminium continued to test nameplate and Brazil Aluminium ramped-up.
• Invested US$197M7 at Hermosa as we advanced construction of the Taylor zinc-lead-silver project, with both shafts expected to reach the primary production level in the December 2026 quarter.