Australia Manganese saleable ore production decreased by 1% (or 15kwmt) to 2,616kwmt in the nine months ended March 2020 as lower primary circuit throughput, following heavy rain in late FY19, was partially offset by an increase in demand for our low cost Premium Concentrate Ore (PC02) product. We continued to operate the PC02 circuit above its design capacity, contributing 11% of total production in the nine months ended March 2020 (10% in the prior corresponding period). Manganese ore sales declined 12% during the March 2020 quarter due to lower production and a shipment that slipped to the June 2020 quarter as a result of quarantine delays at port.

FY20 production guidance has been lowered by 5% to 3,375kwmt, reflecting lower year to date throughput and reduced productivity expectations to finish the year following temporary roster changes made to respond to COVID-19. Guidance is subject to no further impact from COVID-19 restrictions or measures during the remainder of the financial year. We also continue to monitor the potential impact of the wet season and market conditions on our adjusted FY20 production guidance.

Manganese alloy saleable production decreased by 29% (or 33kt) to 81kt in the nine months ended March 2020 as one of the four furnaces remained offline.

Following a review of activity in response to market conditions and an update to our assumptions for foreign exchange rates over the remainder of FY20, guidance for sustaining capital expenditure has been reduced by US$1M (or 2%) to US$63M.

South Africa Manganese saleable ore production decreased by 7% (or 111kwmt) to 1,504kwmt in the nine months ended March 2020 as we reduced our use of higher cost trucking and undertook an extended maintenance shut at our Wessels mine in the December quarter, in response to market conditions.

As previously reported, FY20 production guidance has been withdrawn following the nationwide lockdown in South Africa that is currently scheduled to expire on 30 April, having commenced at midnight on 26 March. Our manganese ore and alloy operations were placed on temporary care and maintenance at commencement of the lockdown. We subsequently requested and received government approval to undertake limited activity during the lockdown period and have partially remobilised our manganese ore operations to resume production activities at a reduced rate across the June 2020 quarter.

Manganese alloy saleable production increased by 2% (or 1kt) to 48kt in the nine months ended March 2020. Our Metalloys smelter remains on temporary care and maintenance.

Following a review of activity in response to market conditions and an update to our assumptions for foreign exchange rates over the remainder of FY20, guidance for sustaining capital expenditure has been reduced by US$5M (or 19%) to US$21M.

Table 1: Production summary

Table 2: Production Guidance

Table 3: Australia Manganese (60% share)

Table 4: South Africa Manganese (60% share)

Related Link: Official Document