Australia Manganese saleable ore production increased by 3% (or 26kwmt)
to 880kwmt in the September 2020 quarter as favourable ore
characteristics supported an improvement in primary concentrator output,
more than offsetting lower volumes of our Premium Concentrate Ore (PC02)
fines product. PC02 fines contributed 9% of total production in the
period. With its lower relative price realisations, PC02 contributed to
an overall modest discount for our manganese ore sales to the high grade
44% index10 during the September 2020 quarter.
While we continue to monitor market conditions and the potential impact
from the wet season across the remainder of the year, FY21 production
guidance remains unchanged at 3,500kwmt.
Manganese alloy saleable production decreased by 7% (or 2kt) to 27kt in
the September 2020 quarter as one of the four furnaces at TEMCO remained
offline.
South Africa Manganese saleable ore production increased by 55% (or
207kwmt) to 581kwmt in the September 2020 quarter as the operation
returned to full capacity, following the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in
the prior quarter. We took advantage of favourable market conditions by
utilising higher cost trucking as an alternate route to market while
rail logistics continued to normalise. While we continue to monitor
market conditions and the attractiveness of higher cost trucking, FY21
production guidance remains unchanged at 2,000kwmt.
We did not produce any manganese alloy in the September 2020 quarter as
our Metalloys manganese alloy smelter remained on care and maintenance.
Production summary
South32 share |
YTD FY20 |
YTD FY21 |
YoY |
1Q20 |
4Q20 |
1Q21 |
QoQ |
Manganese ore production (kwmt) |
1,415 |
1,461 |
3% |
1,415 |
1,228 |
1,461 |
19% |
Manganese alloy production (kt) |
44 |
27 |
-39% |
44 |
34 |
27 |
-21% |
Production guidance
Production guidance (South32 share) |
FY20 |
3M YTD FY21 |
FY21e |
Australia Manganese |
|
|
|
Manganese ore production (kwmt) |
3,470 |
880 |
3,500 |
South Africa Manganese |
|
|
|
Manganese ore production7
(kwmt) |
1,878 |
581 |
2,000 |
Operating Performance
South32 share |
YTD FY20 |
YTD FY21 |
1Q20 |
2Q20 |
3Q20 |
4Q20 |
1Q21 |
Australia Manganese (60% share) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manganese ore production (kwmt) |
868 |
880 |
868 |
907 |
841 |
854 |
880 |
Manganese ore sales (kwmt) |
852 |
994 |
852 |
885 |
775 |
928 |
994 |
Ore grade sold (%, Mn) |
45.6 |
44.3 |
45.6 |
44.4 |
44.4 |
43.9 |
44.3 |
Manganese alloy production (kt) |
28 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
24 |
29 |
27 |
Manganese alloy sales (kt) |
32 |
26 |
32 |
26 |
31 |
27 |
26 |
South Africa Manganese (60% share) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manganese ore production7
(kwmt) |
547 |
581 |
547 |
491 |
466 |
374 |
581 |
Manganese ore sales7
(kwmt) |
544 |
517 |
544 |
529 |
476 |
316 |
517 |
Ore grade sold (%, Mn) |
40.4 |
39.7 |
40.4 |
39.6 |
39.8 |
40.8 |
39.7 |
Manganese alloy production (kt) |
16 |
- |
16 |
18 |
14 |
5 |
- |
Manganese alloy sales (kt) |
13 |
8 |
13 |
15 |
20 |
7 |
8 |
Source:
South32 |
(To contact the reporter on this story: jemma.shang@steelhome.cn or 86-555-2238875 18155520624) |