REG - South32 Limited - Quarterly Report - September 2023
23/10/2023 07:15
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RNS Number : 9233Q South32 Limited 23 October 2023
QUARTERLY REPORT
September 2023
· FY24 production guidance remains unchanged across all operations.
· Manganese ore production increased by 4%, with a quarterly record at South
Africa Manganese and a strong start to the year at Australia Manganese.
· Alumina production increased by 3%, as Brazil Alumina recovered from temporary
port infrastructure outages, while Worsley Alumina completed planned calciner
maintenance.
· Hillside Aluminium continued to test its maximum technical capacity and
low-carbon aluminium(1) production from Brazil Aluminium and Mozal Aluminium
increased by 2%.
· Illawarra Metallurgical Coal production decreased by 33%, as the operation
commenced an extended planned longwall move at the Dendrobium mine. A new
industrial agreement covering deputies at the Appin mine was finalised
subsequent to the end of the quarter.
· Sierra Gorda payable copper production decreased by 8%, as higher throughput
delivered by the plant de-bottlenecking project was offset by lower planned
copper grades.
· Cannington payable zinc equivalent production decreased by 6%, due to lower
planned zinc grades in the quarter, with the operation remaining on-track to
deliver 11% production growth in FY24.
· Cerro Matoso payable nickel production decreased by 19%, as the operation was
impacted by planned plant maintenance and a temporary disruption to gas
supply.
· We commenced federal permitting at our Hermosa project under FAST-41 and
remain on-track to complete the feasibility study for the Taylor
zinc-lead-silver deposit in Q2 FY24.
South32 Chief Executive Officer, Graham Kerr: "We have maintained annual
production guidance for all of our operations with a strong start to the year
at our manganese operations, a 34 per cent increase in production at Brazil
Alumina and continued growth in low-carbon aluminium volumes.
"With macroeconomic conditions creating headwinds for many of our commodities,
we remain focused on driving operating performance and cost efficiencies. This
focus, along with our production growth in commodities critical for a
low-carbon future, positions us well to capture higher margins as market
conditions improve.
"Our disciplined approach to capital management allowed us to return a further
US$22 million with the continuation of our US$2.4 billion capital management
program, and following the end of the period, pay our US$145 million
fully-franked ordinary dividend in respect of the prior six months.
"During the quarter, we continued to advance our portfolio of high-quality
growth options in critical commodities. At our Hermosa project, we commenced
federal permitting for the Taylor and Clark deposits under FAST-41 and remain
on-track to complete Taylor's feasibility study in the December 2023 quarter."
Production summary
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 QoQ
Alumina production (kt) 1,257 1,290 3% 1,257 1,249 1,290 3%
Aluminium production (kt) 279 288 3% 279 286 288 1%
Payable copper production (kt) 19.0 16.0 (16%) 19.0 17.3 16.0 (8%)
Payable silver production (koz) 2,748 3,375 23% 2,748 3,522 3,375 (4%)
Payable lead production (kt) 24.6 28.5 16% 24.6 28.3 28.5 1%
Payable zinc production (kt) 14.0 13.2 (6%) 14.0 16.2 13.2 (19%)
Payable nickel production (kt) 9.6 8.3 (14%) 9.6 10.2 8.3 (19%)
Metallurgical coal production (kt) 1,270 1,043 (18%) 1,270 1,504 1,043 (31%)
Manganese ore production (kwmt) 1,460 1,518 4% 1,460 1,455 1,518 4%
Unless otherwise noted: percentage variance relates to performance during the
September 2023 quarter compared with the September 2022 quarter (YoY), or the
September 2023 quarter compared with the June 2023 quarter (QoQ); production
and sales volumes are reported on an attributable basis.
Corporate Update
· Supporting our commitment to deliver improved safety performance, we continued
to implement our multi-year Safety Improvement Program, including significant
investment in safety leadership through our 'Lead Safely Every Day'
training.
· We remain focused on driving cost performance to mitigate industry-wide
inflationary pressure. During the quarter, we initiated a Group-wide review
that is expected to deliver a reduction in expenditure across our operations
and functions in FY24 and FY25.
· Net debt(2) increased by US$299M to US$782M during the September 2023 quarter
with lower commodity prices, and a temporary build in working capital of
~US$250M as we made payments accrued in the prior period and our high value
aluminium inventory increased by ~US$100M. We expect to lower our aluminium
inventory position to normalised levels during the December 2023 quarter, as
Brazil Aluminium makes its first planned export sales and we drawdown
inventory in our Southern African value chain.
· We invested in productivity and improvement activities across our portfolio,
allocating US$180M to safe and reliable, and improvement and life extension,
capital expenditure(3). This included our planned investment to support
Illawarra Metallurgical Coal's transition to a more efficient single longwall
configuration at the Appin mine from FY25 and additional ventilation capacity
to enable mining in Appin's Area 7 until at least 2039(4).
· We received net distributions(5) of US$33M (South32 share) from our equity
accounted investments (EAI) during the September 2023 quarter, including
US$15M from our manganese business and US$18M from Sierra Gorda.
· We allocated US$22M to our on-market share buy-back during the September 2023
quarter, purchasing a further 10M shares at an average price of A$3.34 per
share. Our US$2.4B capital management program is 95% complete with US$112M
remaining to be returned ahead of its extension or expiry on 1 March 2024(6).
· Subsequent to the end of the quarter, we paid a fully-franked ordinary
dividend of US$145M in respect of the June 2023 half year.
· Our FY24 Underlying effective tax rate (ETR) is expected to reflect the
corporate tax rates and earnings of the jurisdictions in which we operate(7),
including our manganese business and Sierra Gorda on a proportional
consolidated basis (including royalty related taxes for Australia Manganese
and Sierra Gorda). The impact of permanent differences can have a
disproportionate effect on our Underlying ETR when profit margins are
compressed.
· Separately, the Group made tax payments of US$39M (excluding EAIs) during the
September 2023 quarter, as cash tax normalised following one-off portfolio
related tax payments in the prior period.
Development and Exploration Update
Hermosa project
· We invested US$71M of growth capital expenditure as we progressed construction
of key infrastructure and commenced federal permitting for our Taylor
zinc-lead-silver and Clark battery-grade manganese deposits.
· We expect to complete the feasibility study and an independent peer review for
the Taylor deposit in the December 2023 quarter and announce the study results
and a final investment decision in the March 2024 quarter.
· We commissioned the second water treatment plant, a key milestone in our
critical path dewatering activity, and are on-track to commence construction
of the Clark exploration decline in the December 2023 quarter.
· We submitted a mine plan of operations for both the Taylor and Clark deposits
with the US Forest Service, commencing the federal permitting process under
FAST-41(8).
· We directed US$6M to capitalised exploration during the September 2023
quarter, as we continued exploration drilling at our copper-lead-zinc-silver
Peake prospect, to follow-up recent high-grade copper exploration
results(9).
Greenfield exploration
· We invested US$9M in our greenfield exploration opportunities during the
September 2023 quarter, including a first time exploration drilling program at
our 100% owned Roosevelt project in Alaska.
· Consistent with our focus on adding prospective base metals options, we
acquired an additional 4.9% equity interest in Aldebaran Resources Inc.
(Aldebaran Resources) for approximately US$8M, taking our ownership to 14.8%.
Aldebaran Resources has an earn-in to acquire an 80% interest in the Altar
copper project in San Juan, Argentina.
Other exploration
· We invested US$15M (US$11M capitalised) in exploration programs at our
existing operations and development options during the September 2023 quarter,
including US$6M at the Hermosa project (noted above, all capitalised), US$1M
at Ambler Metals (all capitalised) and US$2M for our Sierra Gorda EAI (all
capitalised).
Production Summary
Production guidance FY23 YTD FY24 FY24e((a)) Comments
(South32 share)
Worsley Alumina
Alumina production (kt) 3,839 972 4,000 Calciner maintenance completed in Q1 FY24
Further calciner maintenance scheduled in Q3 FY24
Brazil Alumina (non-operated)
Alumina production (kt) 1,262 318 1,400 Recovered from temporary port infrastructure outages
Brazil Aluminium (non-operated)
Aluminium production (kt) 69 24 100
Hillside Aluminium(10)
Aluminium production (kt) 719 180 720
Mozal Aluminium(10)
Aluminium production (kt) 345 84 365
Sierra Gorda (non-operated)
Payable copper equivalent production(11) (kt) 86.5 20.3 89.0
Payable copper production (kt) 70.7 16.0 67.0
Payable molybdenum production (kt) 1.2 0.4 2.5
Payable gold production (koz) 28.8 6.3 22.5
Payable silver production (koz) 630 145 550
Cannington
Payable zinc equivalent production(12) (kt) 259.6 70.3 287.2
Payable silver production (koz) 11,183 3,230 12,500
Payable lead production (kt) 101.7 28.5 115.0
Payable zinc production (kt) 59.2 13.2 62.0
Cerro Matoso
Payable nickel production (kt) 40.8 8.3 40.5 Planned maintenance and a temporary disruption to
third-party gas supply
Illawarra Metallurgical Coal
Total coal production (kt) 6,520 1,168 5,000 Four longwall moves planned
in FY24
Metallurgical coal production (kt) 5,497 1,043 4,400
Energy coal production (kt) 1,023 125 600
Australia Manganese
Manganese ore production (kwmt) 3,545 890 3,400
South Africa Manganese
Manganese ore production (kwmt) 2,108 628 2,000
a. The denotation (e) refers to an estimate or forecast year.
Worsley Alumina (86% share)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Alumina production (kt) 920 972 6% 920 1,012 972 6% (4%)
Alumina sales (kt) 885 913 3% 885 1,111 913 3% (18%)
Worsley Alumina saleable production decreased by 4% (or 40kt) to 972kt in the
September 2023 quarter as we completed planned calciner maintenance. FY24
production guidance remains unchanged at 4,000kt with the refinery expected to
deliver production at nameplate capacity of 4.6Mt (100% basis) over the year.
Further planned calciner maintenance is scheduled for the March 2024 quarter.
Sales decreased by 18% in the September 2023 quarter as a shipment slipped to
the December 2023 quarter.
During the September 2023 quarter, we converted the first coal fired boiler to
natural gas, which will improve energy security and reduce the refinery's
operational greenhouse gas emissions(13). The second boiler conversion is
on-track to be completed in the June 2024 half year.
Brazil Alumina (36% share, NON-OPERATED)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Alumina production (kt) 337 318 (6%) 337 237 318 (6%) 34%
Alumina sales (kt) 313 272 (13%) 313 242 272 (13%) 12%
Brazil Alumina saleable production increased by 34% (or 81kt) to 318kt in the
September 2023 quarter as the refinery continued its recovery from the
temporary port infrastructure outages in the prior quarter. FY24 production
guidance remains unchanged at 1,400kt.
Brazil AluminIUM (40% share, NON-OPERATED)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Aluminium production (kt) 8 24 200% 8 24 24 200% 0%
Aluminium sales (kt) 3 8 167% 3 26 8 167% (69%)
Brazil Aluminium saleable production was largely unchanged at 24kt in the
September 2023 quarter as the smelter continued to ramp-up all three potlines.
FY24 production guidance remains unchanged at 100kt.
During the September 2023 quarter, we progressed activity to commence export
sales of our share of the smelter's aluminium production, having established
initial sales volumes with domestic customers. We expect to commence export
sales and drawdown our inventory position to normalised levels during the
December 2023 quarter.
Hillside Aluminium (100% SHARE)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Aluminium production (kt) 179 180 1% 179 180 180 1% 0%
Aluminium sales (kt) 162 170 5% 162 185 170 5% (8%)
Hillside Aluminium saleable production was unchanged at 180kt in the September
2023 quarter as the smelter continued to test its maximum technical capacity
despite the impact of elevated load-shedding. FY24 production guidance remains
unchanged at 720kt(10).
Sales decreased by 8% in the September 2023 quarter as a shipment slipped to
the December 2023 quarter.
Mozal Aluminium (63.7% share)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Aluminium production (kt) 92 84 (9%) 92 82 84 (9%) 2%
Aluminium sales (kt) 87 77 (11%) 87 114 77 (11%) (32%)
Mozal Aluminium saleable production increased by 2% (or 2kt) to 84kt in the
September 2023 quarter as the smelter continued to implement initiatives to
achieve planned equipment utilisation and pot stability, while managing the
impact of elevated load-shedding. FY24 production guidance remains unchanged
at 365kt(10), with higher volumes expected across the remainder of the year as
nameplate production rates are achieved.
Sales decreased by 32% in the September 2023 quarter as we built inventory
following a significant planned drawdown in the prior quarter. We expect to
lower our inventory position to normalised levels during the December 2023
quarter.
SIERRA GORDA (45% share)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Payable copper equivalent production(11) (kt) 22.5 20.3 (10%) 22.5 22.5 20.3 (10%) (10%)
Payable copper production (kt) 19.0 16.0 (16%) 19.0 17.3 16.0 (16%) (8%)
Payable copper sales (kt) 19.2 15.3 (20%) 19.2 18.0 15.3 (20%) (15%)
Sierra Gorda payable copper equivalent production(11) decreased by 10% or
(2.2kt) to 20.3kt in the September 2023 quarter as higher plant throughput
delivered by the de-bottlenecking project, was more than offset by lower
planned copper grades. FY24 production guidance remains unchanged at 89.0kt
payable copper equivalent (copper 67.0kt, molybdenum 2.5kt, gold 22.5koz and
silver 550koz).
Sierra Gorda progressed the feasibility study for the fourth grinding line
expansion, which has the potential to sustainably lift plant throughput by
~18% to ~57 to 58Mtpa (100% basis). The feasibility study remains on-track to
be completed in the June 2024 half year.
Cannington (100% share)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Payable zinc equivalent production(12) (kt) 61.1 70.3 15% 61.1 74.5 70.3 15% (6%)
Payable silver production (koz) 2,568 3,230 26% 2,568 3,368 3,230 26% (4%)
Payable silver sales (koz) 1,704 2,873 69% 1,704 3,244 2,873 69% (11%)
Payable lead production (kt) 24.6 28.5 16% 24.6 28.3 28.5 16% 1%
Payable lead sales (kt) 18.7 25.6 37% 18.7 26.0 25.6 37% (2%)
Payable zinc production (kt) 14.0 13.2 (6%) 14.0 16.2 13.2 (6%) (19%)
Payable zinc sales (kt) 14.9 13.9 (7%) 14.9 21.8 13.9 (7%) (36%)
Cannington payable zinc equivalent production(12) decreased by 6% (or 4.2kt)
to 70.3kt in the September 2023 quarter as average zinc grades declined due to
the sequencing of lower grade stopes. FY24 guidance remains unchanged at
287.2kt payable zinc equivalent production (silver 12,500koz, lead 115.0kt and
zinc 62.0kt).
Cerro Matoso (99.9% share)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Payable nickel production (kt) 9.6 8.3 (14%) 9.6 10.2 8.3 (14%) (19%)
Payable nickel sales (kt) 9.0 8.5 (6%) 9.0 10.4 8.5 (6%) (18%)
Cerro Matoso payable nickel production decreased by 19% (or 1.9kt) to 8.3kt in
the September 2023 quarter as
plant availability was impacted by planned maintenance and a temporary
reduction in third-party gas supply, while nickel grades were sequentially
lower in accordance with the mine plan. FY24 production guidance remains
unchanged at 40.5kt, with improved plant throughput and nickel grades expected
across the remainder of the year.
Sales decreased by 18% in the September 2023 quarter, reflecting lower product
availability. Price realisations for our ferronickel product reflected a
discount of ~33% to the LME Nickel Index(14), as market dynamics remained
largely unchanged from the prior year (FY23: ~29% discount).
Illawarra Metallurgical Coal (100% sHARE)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Total coal production (kt) 1,595 1,168 (27%) 1,595 1,753 1,168 (27%) (33%)
Total coal sales(15) (kt) 1,390 1,196 (14%) 1,390 1,697 1,196 (14%) (30%)
Metallurgical coal production (kt) 1,270 1,043 (18%) 1,270 1,504 1,043 (18%) (31%)
Metallurgical coal sales (kt) 1,193 996 (17%) 1,193 1,529 996 (17%) (35%)
Energy coal production (kt) 325 125 (62%) 325 249 125 (62%) (50%)
Energy coal sales (kt) 197 200 2% 197 168 200 2% 19%
Illawarra Metallurgical Coal saleable production decreased by 33% (or 585kt)
to 1,168kt in the September 2023 quarter as the operation commenced an
extended planned longwall move at the Dendrobium mine. A new four-year
industrial agreement covering deputies at the Appin mine was finalised
subsequent to the end of the quarter.
FY24 production guidance remains unchanged at 5.0Mt with production volumes
expected to be weighted to H2 FY24, reflecting the expected duration of
planned longwall moves across the year (two in Q2 FY24, two in Q4 FY24).
Australia Manganese (60% share)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Manganese ore production (kwmt) 898 890 (1%) 898 869 890 (1%) 2%
Manganese ore sales (kwmt) 779 940 21% 779 866 940 21% 9%
Australia Manganese saleable production increased by 2% (or 21kwmt) to 890kwmt
in the September 2023 quarter
as the operation achieved strong primary output, and continued to operate the
low-cost PC02 circuit above its design capacity, delivering ~11% of production
(FY23: 11%). FY24 production guidance remains unchanged at 3,400kwmt, subject
to the impacts from the wet season.
Sales increased by 9% in the September 2023 quarter, as improved road haulage
capacity and alternative shipping solutions supported a planned drawdown in
inventories. Our average realised price for manganese ore sales was a discount
of approximately 6% to the high grade 44% manganese lump ore index(16) on a
M-1 basis (FY23: 6% discount), reflecting lower planned ore grades, as well as
price realisations for our PC02 product.
South Africa Manganese (ore 54.6% share)
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 YoY 1Q23 4Q23 1Q24 1Q24 vs 1Q23 1Q24 vs 4Q23
Manganese ore production (kwmt) 562 628 12% 562 586 628 12% 7%
Manganese ore sales (kwmt) 473 518 10% 473 541 518 10% (4%)
South Africa Manganese continued its strong performance, increasing saleable
production by 7% (or 42kwmt) to a record 628kwmt in the September 2023
quarter. FY24 production guidance remains unchanged at 2,000kwmt, with
planned maintenance scheduled for the December 2023 and March 2024 quarters.
Sales decreased by 4% in the September 2023 quarter, as third-party port
congestion impacted the timing of shipments. We expect to complete additional
shipments and drawdown inventories during the December 2023 quarter.
Our realised price for manganese ore sales was a premium of approximately 6%
to the medium grade 37% manganese lump ore index(17) on a M-1 basis (FY23: 6%
premium), as we continued to optimise our sales mix.
Notes
1. Refers to aluminium produced using renewable power.
2. Net debt number is unaudited and should not be considered as an indication of
or alternative to an IFRS measure of profitability, financial performance or
liquidity.
3. Group safe and reliable capital expenditure and improvement and life extension
capital expenditure (excluding EAIs). FY24 guidance is US$690M.
4. The information in this announcement that relates to the Production Target for
Appin (up to 2039) of Illawarra Metallurgical Coal is based on 21% Proved and
79% Probable Coal Reserves from Bulli (Appin). Production Target cautionary
statement - The Coal Reserves estimates underpinning the Production Target
have been prepared by Competent Persons and reported in accordance with the
JORC Code. The Coal Resources and Coal Reserves estimates are available to
view in South32's FY23 Annual Report (http://www.south32.net) published on 8
September 2023. The stated Production Target is based on South32's current
expectations of future results or events and should not be solely relied upon
by investors when making investment decisions. Further evaluation work and
appropriate studies are required to establish sufficient confidence that this
target will be met.
5. Net distributions from our material equity accounted investments (manganese
and Sierra Gorda) includes net debt movements and dividends, which are
unaudited and should not be considered as an indication of or alternative to
an IFRS measure of profitability, financial performance or liquidity.
6. Since inception, US$1.7B has been allocated to the on-market share buy-back
(788M shares at an average price of A$3.05 per share) and US$525M returned in
the form of special dividends.
7. The corporate tax rates of the geographies where the Group operates include:
Australia 30%, South Africa 27%, Colombia 35%, Mozambique 0%, Brazil 34% and
Chile 27%. The Mozambique operations are subject to a royalty on revenues
instead of income tax. Sierra Gorda is subject to a royalty related tax based
on the amount of copper sold and the mining operating margin, the rate is
between 5% and 14% for annual sales over 50kt of refined copper. This royalty
is included in tax expense.
8. Refer to market release "Hermosa Project Update" dated 8 May 2023. In May
2023, our Hermosa project was confirmed by the US Federal Permitting
Improvement Steering Council, an independent federal agency, as the first
mining project added to the FAST-41 process.
9. Peake Prospect Exploration Target: The information in this announcement that
relates to Exploration Results for Peake prospect is extracted from the
announcement entitled (Hermosa Project - Mineral Resource Estimate Update and
Exploration Results) published on 24 July 2023 and is available to view on
www.south32.net. The company confirms that it is not aware of any new
information or data that materially affects the information included in the
original market announcement. The company confirms that the form and context
in which the Competent Person's findings are presented have not been
materially modified from the original market announcement.
10. Production guidance for Hillside Aluminium and Mozal Aluminium does not assume
any load-shedding impact on production.
11. Payable copper equivalent production (kt) was calculated by aggregating
revenues from copper, molybdenum, gold and silver, and dividing the total
Revenue by the price of copper. FY23 realised prices for copper (US$3.51/lb),
molybdenum (US$21.28/lb), gold (US$1,821/oz) and silver (US$21.9/oz) have been
used for FY23, Q1 FY24 and FY24e.
12. Payable zinc equivalent production (kt) was calculated by aggregating revenues
from payable silver, lead and zinc, and dividing the total Revenue by the
price of zinc. FY23 realised prices for zinc (US$2,151/t), lead (US$1,919/t)
and silver (US$21.1/oz) have been used for FY23, Q1 FY24 and FY24e.
13. The first boiler conversion is expected to reduce the refinery's operational
greenhouse gas emissions by up to ~205,000 tonnes per annum or ~6% from FY23
levels.
14. Our realised price for nickel sales during the September 2023 quarter was
US$6.19/lb, which represented a ~33% discount to the average LME Nickel index
price of US$9.23/lb.
15. Illawarra Metallurgical Coal sales are adjusted for moisture and will not
reconcile directly to Illawarra Metallurgical Coal production.
16. The sales volume weighted average of the Metal Bulletin 44% manganese lump ore
index (CIF Tianjin, China) on the basis of a one-month lag to published
pricing (Month minus one or "M-1") was US$4.53/dmtu in the September 2023
quarter.
17. The sales volume weighted average of the Metal Bulletin 37% manganese lump ore
index (FOB Port Elizabeth, South Africa) on the basis of a M-1 basis was
US$2.99/dmtu in the September 2023 quarter.
The following abbreviations have been used throughout this report: US$ million
(US$M); US$ billion (US$B); grams per tonne (g/t); tonnes (t); thousand tonnes
(kt); thousand tonnes per annum (ktpa); million tonnes (Mt); million tonnes
per annum (Mtpa); ounces (oz); thousand ounces (koz); million ounces (Moz);
thousand wet metric tonnes (kwmt); million wet metric tonnes (Mwmt); million
wet metric tonnes per annum (Mwmt pa); dry metric tonne unit (dmtu); thousand
dry metric tonnes (kdmt).
Figures in Italics indicate that an adjustment has been made since the figures
were previously reported. The denotation (e) refers to an estimate or forecast
year.
Operating Performance
South32 share YTD FY23 YTD FY24 1Q23 2Q23 3Q23 4Q23 1Q24
Worsley Alumina (86% share)
Alumina hydrate production (kt) 957 973 957 998 921 957 973
Alumina production (kt) 920 972 920 1,002 905 1,012 972
Alumina sales (kt) 885 913 885 976 845 1,111 913
Brazil Alumina (36% share)
Alumina production (kt) 337 318 337 354 334 237 318
Alumina sales (kt) 313 272 313 365 317 242 272
Brazil Aluminium (40% share)
Aluminium production (kt) 8 24 8 15 22 24 24
Aluminium sales (kt) 3 8 3 16 23 26 8
Hillside Aluminium (100% share)
Aluminium production (kt) 179 180 179 183 177 180 180
Aluminium sales (kt) 162 170 162 175 197 185 170
Mozal Aluminium (63.7% share)
Aluminium production (kt) 92 84 92 90 81 82 84
Aluminium sales (kt) 87 77 87 90 43 114 77
Sierra Gorda (45% share)
Ore mined (Mt) 8.8 5.9 8.8 6.6 5.1 5.5 5.9
Ore processed (Mt) 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.3 5.1 5.4 5.5
Copper ore grade processed (%, Cu) 0.45 0.37 0.45 0.44 0.40 0.40 0.37
Payable copper equivalent production(11) (kt) 22.5 20.3 22.5 22.3 19.2 22.5 20.3
Payable copper production (kt) 19.0 16.0 19.0 18.9 15.5 17.3 16.0
Payable copper sales (kt) 19.2 15.3 19.2 19.2 15.4 18.0 15.3
Payable molybdenum production (kt) 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.4
Payable molybdenum sales (kt) 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.4
Payable gold production (koz) 7.8 6.3 7.8 7.5 6.2 7.3 6.3
Payable gold sales (koz) 7.7 6.3 7.7 7.7 6.4 7.3 6.3
Payable silver production (koz) 180 145 180 158 138 154 145
Payable silver sales (koz) 179 140 179 166 137 157 140
Cannington (100% share)
Ore mined (kwmt) 639 551 639 484 469 631 551
Ore processed (kdmt) 518 562 518 624 452 562 562
Silver ore grade processed (g/t, Ag) 179 206 179 171 191 210 206
Lead ore grade processed (%, Pb) 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.4 5.5 5.8 5.8
Zinc ore grade processed (%, Zn) 3.7 3.2 3.7 3.6 3.8 4.0 3.2
Payable zinc equivalent production(12) (kt) 61.1 70.3 61.1 69.7 54.3 74.5 70.3
Payable silver production (koz) 2,568 3,230 2,568 2,906 2,341 3,368 3,230
Payable silver sales (koz) 1,704 2,873 1,704 3,379 2,412 3,244 2,873
Payable lead production (kt) 24.6 28.5 24.6 27.8 21.0 28.3 28.5
Payable lead sales (kt) 18.7 25.6 18.7 32.6 21.7 26.0 25.6
Payable zinc production (kt) 14.0 13.2 14.0 16.4 12.6 16.2 13.2
Payable zinc sales (kt) 14.9 13.9 14.9 12.6 8.8 21.8 13.9
Cerro Matoso (99.9% share)
Ore mined (kwmt) 1,332 940 1,332 1,420 1,189 1,619 940
Ore processed (kdmt) 666 594 666 726 713 702 594
Ore grade processed (%, Ni) 1.63 1.57 1.63 1.65 1.58 1.62 1.57
Payable nickel production (kt) 9.6 8.3 9.6 10.8 10.2 10.2 8.3
Payable nickel sales (kt) 9.0 8.5 9.0 10.8 10.6 10.4 8.5
Illawarra Metallurgical Coal (100%)
Total coal production (kt) 1,595 1,168 1,595 1,736 1,436 1,753 1,168
Total coal sales(15) (kt) 1,390 1,196 1,390 1,795 1,477 1,697 1,196
Metallurgical coal production (kt) 1,270 1,043 1,270 1,483 1,240 1,504 1,043
Metallurgical coal sales (kt) 1,193 996 1,193 1,485 1,195 1,529 996
Energy coal production (kt) 325 125 325 253 196 249 125
Energy coal sales (kt) 197 200 197 310 282 168 200
Australia Manganese (60% share)
Manganese ore production (kwmt) 898 890 898 946 832 869 890
Manganese ore sales (kwmt) 779 940 779 873 743 866 940
Ore grade sold (%, Mn) 44.3 42.9 44.3 44.1 44.0 43.1 42.9
South Africa Manganese (54.6% share)
Manganese ore production (kwmt) 562 628 562 531 429 586 628
Manganese ore sales (kwmt) 473 518 473 559 492 541 518
Ore grade sold (%, Mn) 38.5 39.0 38.5 39.8 38.8 39.4 39.0
Forward-looking statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about
trends in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; demand for
commodities; production forecasts; plans, strategies and objectives of
management; capital costs and scheduling; operating costs; anticipated
productive lives of projects, mines and facilities; and provisions and
contingent liabilities. These forward-looking statements reflect expectations
at the date of this release, however they are not guarantees or predictions of
future performance. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors, many of which are beyond our control, and which may cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements
contained in this release. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable laws or
regulations, the South32 Group does not undertake to publicly update or review
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or
future events. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future
performance. South32 cautions against reliance on any forward-looking
statements or guidance.
Further information
INVESTOR RELATIONS MEDIA RELATIONS
Ben Baker Jamie Macdonald Miles Godfrey
M +61 403 763 086
M +61 408 925 140
M +61 415 325 906
E Ben.Baker@south32.net E Jamie.Macdonald@south32.net E Miles.Godrey@south32.net
Approved for release to the market by Graham Kerr, Chief Executive Officer
JSE Sponsor: The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited
23 October 2023
South32 Limited
(Incorporated in Australia under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth))
(ACN 093 732 597)
ASX / LSE / JSE Share Code: S32; ADR: SOUHY
ISIN: AU000000S320
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