Kumba Iron Ore, a South African unit of global mining giant Anglo American, on Friday said it was cutting production over the next three years to align output to constrained capacity to transport minerals via rail to port.
State-owned freight rail and port operator Transnet is struggling to haul minerals and other commodities to export markets due to locomotive shortages, cable theft and vandalism of its infrastructure. This has cost exporters billions of rand in potential revenue.
Kumba, whose iron ore stockpiles had grown to 9-million tonnes by September due to the rail bottlenecks, said it expects to end 2023 with production of between 35-36 million tonnes, from the previous forecast between 35–37 million tonnes.
Kumba has also lowered its production outlook for the next three years to 35–37 million tonnes per year, from previous targets of 37–39 million tonnes in 2024 and 39–41 million tonnes in 2025, it said in a production update.
"There is no escaping the fact that ongoing logistics constraints have continued to place significant pressure on our value chain, resulting in stock levels at the mines increasing to unsustainable levels. We have therefore slowed down production," Kumba CEO Mpumi Zikhalala said.
Transnet woes force Anglo to cut production at Kumba Iron Ore unit
Image: Thapelo Morebudi
Kumba Iron Ore, a South African unit of global mining giant Anglo American, on Friday said it was cutting production over the next three years to align output to constrained capacity to transport minerals via rail to port.
State-owned freight rail and port operator Transnet is struggling to haul minerals and other commodities to export markets due to locomotive shortages, cable theft and vandalism of its infrastructure. This has cost exporters billions of rand in potential revenue.
Kumba, whose iron ore stockpiles had grown to 9-million tonnes by September due to the rail bottlenecks, said it expects to end 2023 with production of between 35-36 million tonnes, from the previous forecast between 35–37 million tonnes.
Kumba has also lowered its production outlook for the next three years to 35–37 million tonnes per year, from previous targets of 37–39 million tonnes in 2024 and 39–41 million tonnes in 2025, it said in a production update.
"There is no escaping the fact that ongoing logistics constraints have continued to place significant pressure on our value chain, resulting in stock levels at the mines increasing to unsustainable levels. We have therefore slowed down production," Kumba CEO Mpumi Zikhalala said.
Anglo American plans $1.8bn spending cuts by 2026
The persistent logistics problems have resulted in a 15% decrease in iron ore railed to port since 2019, Kumba said.
Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad told an investor call on Friday that the group had decided to slow down production at Kumba and move stockpiles until Transnet's logistics problems were resolved.
"As soon as we get the transport capacity, we would be able to ramp the production back up," Wanblad said.
Anglo American was preparing to freeze spending on growth and widen job cuts in South Africa, including mothballing some higher-cost platinum mines, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
On Friday, the global miner said it aims to cut capital expenditure by $1.8bn (R33.9bn) by 2026, as it grapples with a fall in demand for most of the metals it mines and a huge writedown for its British fertiliser project.
Reuters
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