Kolomela offsets Sishen output drop

Kumba Iron Ore’s first-quarter sales were largely unchanged from a year earlier, with a good performance at the Kolomela mine offsetting lower output from the flagship Sishen mine.

Kumba, the JSE-listed subsidiary of Anglo American, noted a 4% increase in group production, driven entirely by a 26% increase at Kolomela, which supplied 3.5-million tonnes of iron ore during the first three months of the year.

Total sales for the quarter were 1% lower at 10.83-million tonnes, with domestic sales up by 6% to 885,000 tonnes.

A derailment between Sishen and the Saldanha port cut sales by 1.1-million tonnes.

“Kumba is working closely with Transnet to mitigate derailments and currently expects to meet full-year guidance with total sales of 44-million to 45million tonnes,” Kumba said.

It said that it had stockpiles of 4.6-million tonnes, which was 300,000 tonnes higher than at the end of 2017.

Sishen’s output was down 5% to 7.3-million tonnes, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

The reason for the lower production was reduced output from the dense media separation plant, due to short-term mining feedstock constraints.

KUMBA IS WORKING WITH TRANSNET TO MITIGATE DERAILMENTS AND EXPECTS TO MEET FULL-YEAR GUIDANCE

Sishen’s full-year production target is between 30-million and 31-million tonnes. To reach that output, the mine will have to produce up to 180-million tonnes of waste rock.

Kumba set Kolomela’s fullyear production at 14-million tonnes and the mine will have to shift up to 57-million tonnes of waste this year.

Kumba is the fourth-largest iron-ore producer in the world.