Anglo American plc is one of the worlds largest mining and natural resource groups. With its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, it is a global leader in platinum group metals, gold and diamonds, with significant interests in coal, base and ferrous metals, industrial minerals and paper and packaging. The group is geographically diverse, with operations in Africa, Europe, South and North America, Australia and Asia.

            Red = 25 day moving average.           Green = 200 day moving average.

SALES PER ACTIVITY (Data as of 31/12/2005)

Packaging and Paper: 23%
Ferrous metals:         20.5%
Industrial minerals:    14%
Platinum:                 12.5%
Nonferrous metals:    12%
Coal:                       9%
Gold:                       9%

Further to the announcement of 23 March 2006 (a copy of which is available on
the Company's website), Anglo American plc purchased 1,025,000 of its ordinary
shares on 27 April 2006 at prices between 22.85 and 23.67 per share. The
purchased shares will all be held as treasury shares.

Aug. 4 (Bloomberg)

Anglo to Return $5 Billion to Investors; Profit Soars (Update6)


Anglo American Plc, the world's second-biggest mining company, said it will spend $5 billion buying back stock and paying dividends after first-half profit jumped 60 percent.

Record prices for copper and zinc prompted Chief Executive Officer Tony Trahar to focus on Anglo's main mining units by selling a steel mill and planning to spin off paper and sugar plants. That contrasts with rivals Xstrata Plc, Barrick Gold Corp. and Phelps Dodge Corp. making acquisitions.

Net income rose to $2.94 billion, or $2 a share, from $1.84 billion, or $1.27, a year earlier, the London-based company said in a statement today. Anglo will increase a share buyback program by $4 billion and pay out $1 billion in a special dividend.

``You don't want to go and buy commodity companies when commodity prices are at multi year highs,'' Wayne McCurrie, who oversees the equivalent of $7.2 billion at Advantage Asset Management in Johannesburg, said in an interview. ``They've taken flak for not buying assets in this boom, but you can rest assured that they'll go shopping at the right time.''

Since Trahar, 57, announced a reorganization plan on Oct. 26, shares of Anglo have gained 49 percent while those of rival Rio Tinto Group have advanced 32 percent and shares of BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, have climbed 28 percent.

The company expects to have a ``very strong second half'' if current metal prices are sustained, Trahar said in a televised interview. The mining industry is ``cash flush'' and Anglo may consider another share buyback program, he said.


Contrast With Peers

Xstrata is bidding C$19.2 billion ($17.1 billion) fro Canadian nickel producer Falconbridge Ltd. while Phoenix, Arizona-based Phelps Dodge Corp. is battling with Teck Cominco Ltd. of Vancouver to buy Inco Ltd., the world's second-largest nickel producer. Bidding has reached $14.7 billion. Barrick is bidding for NovaGold Resources Inc.

The rally in commodity markets, now in its fifth year, has sent prices for raw materials to records. Copper has more than doubled in the past year, and nickel is up 77 percent. Gold has surged almost 50 percent, reaching a 26-year high in May.

``We did a lot of our merger and acquisition activity at the bottom of the cycle and that's stood us in good stead,'' Trahar said. ``We can do big-scale acquisitions if we choose to.''

Shares of Anglo rose 107 pence, or 4.8 percent, to 2,330 pence in London, the highest since May 12 and valuing the company at 35.4 billion pounds ($67.6 billion). The South African shares rose as high as a record 308.49 rand, closing at 302 rand.


Nickel Mine

Anglo will decide in the fourth quarter whether to build a $1 billion, 40,000 metric ton-a-year nickel mine at Barro Alto in Brazil, it said in the statement. Anglo is also considering a project in China to convert coal into chemicals, and will decide on two Chilean copper mine expansions next year.

Anglo's rivals are also giving cash back to shareholders. Rio in February said it will return $4 billion by buying its own stock and paying a special dividend. BHP Billiton has a $2 billion share buyback and increased its dividend in February.

``These companies are throwing off enormous amounts of cash,'' said Ian Henderson, who manages about $2.5 billion in natural resource assets for JPMorgan Asset Management in London. ``It's the most wonderful situation for them to be in.''

Anglo's earnings-per-share before one-time items and goodwill amortization was $1.70, compared with the $1.81 median estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

BHP Billiton, based in Melbourne, posted a 48 percent gain in fiscal first-half net income to a record $4.36 billion. Rio, based in London, yesterday said first-half profit rose 75 percent to a record $3.8 billion.


Steel, Paper

Since Trahar announced the company's change of tack last October, Anglo has sold Highveld Steel & Vanadium Corp. in South Africa and announced plans to spin off its Mondi paper unit this year. The company also cut its stake in AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. by a fifth. Anglo has decided to retain its Tarmac asphalt business.

While contract prices for iron ore rose 71.5 percent last year and a further 19 percent this year, the prices of some of the Anglo's main metals, such as gold and platinum, have risen at a slower pace. The price of gold advanced 65 percent over the last two years while platinum gained 50 percent.

Anglo's earnings were also curbed by prices for diamonds set by De Beers, the world's biggest diamond producer, in which it has a 45 percent stake. De Beers cut some prices in July after a 2 percent price increase earlier this year. First-half sales were $3.25 billion, below the $3.45 billion median estimate of four analysts polled by Bloomberg.

Second-quarter earnings per share at AngloGold Ashanti were 3.34 rand, below the 3.87 rand median estimate of analysts. Anglo Platinum Ltd., 75 percent owned by Anglo American, more than doubled first-half profit to 4.5 billion rand ($655 million).

The Observer - Sunday August 20, 2006 - Richard Wachman

Anglo American braced for $80bn break-up bid - Expanding economies drive a race to consolidate in industry flush with cash


Anglo American, the mining giant headed by Tony Trahar, is an $80bn bid target for rivals that are awash with cash thanks to the commodities boom being fuelled by China and India.

According to City sources, CVRD of Brazil, along with British-based Xstrata and Rio Tinto, are looking at a possible break-up bid and have hired financial advisers ahead of a possible approach.

The sector is undergoing a period of rapid consolidation as the miners scramble to secure supplies of iron ore, coal, copper and nickel - resources that are vital to the Asian economic miracle. China now consumes about 30 per cent of global mining production and there is no sign of any let-up.

An investment banker said: 'Anglo has been shedding businesses to streamline its operations, but many investors would like it to go on the front foot and buy assets that are being snapped up by its competitors. If it doesn't, it could find itself prey rather than predator, and someone else could break it up.'

Xstrata under Mick Davis has just emerged from winning a takeover battle to acquire Falconbridge of Canada, the copper and nickel group, while CVRD, primarily an iron producer, has entered the fray to acquire Inco, another Canadian metals company. Davis has refused to rule out a bid for Anglo, and bankers say the market would probably react positively even if Xstrata had to tap investors for funds via a rights issue.

Xstrata is about half the size of Anglo in terms of its current market value, but as debt is cheap, analysts believe that Davis wouldn't face any difficulties if it needed to raise cash.

Anglo is worth $60bn but any bidder would have to pay a bid premium, taking the full cost up to $80bn, say experts. But observers say that rivals such as Davis may wait until Anglo has shed Mondi, its paper division, which is to demerge and separately list under new management before the end of the year. Anglo is also to sell its stake in Africa's Anglo-Gold Ashanti as part of a restructuring that will see it focus on base metals, coal and platinum. City analysts say disposals could net the company about $8bn.

Some mining experts believe that Anglo will become more open to mergers and tie-ups early next year when boss Trahar takes early retirement. 'Anyone wanting an alliance with Anglo could find themselves pushing at an open door,' said one analyst.

There was speculation last week that investors in Anglo were pressing for an outside candidate to replace Trahar, and somebody more receptive to dealmaking. Anglo announced that it was streamlining its operations last year after shareholders complained that the stock price was underperforming its peer group and compared unfavourably with valuations ascribed to shares in companies such as BHP Billiton, 'the juggernaut of the sector'.

The Times - October 24, 2006

Anglo American prepares to name new chief - By David Robertson


ANGLO AMERICAN will name a new chief executive to replace Tony Trahar in the next few days, The Times has learnt.

Mr Trahar will retire at the companys annual general meeting next March and Anglo has been seeking a replacement for the past six months.

Philippe Varin, the chief executive of the steel-maker Corus, was an early favourite for the job but he is understood to be no longer in the running. Mr Varin has said that he was committed to seeing through Coruss acquisition by the Tata Group.

Internal candidates are thought to include Rene Medori, the finance director, and Simon Thompson, head of the base metals division.

Anglos headhunter, Spencer Stuart, is also thought to have been interviewing senior executives at both BHP Billiton and Shell. The company yesterday refused to comment on the timing of an announcement except to reiterate earlier guidance of before the end of this year.

The imminent appointment of a new chief executive comes as Anglo is again the centre of takeover speculation. Brian Gilbertson, who will become non-executive chairman of Rusal, the Russian aluminium company, is understood to have targeted Anglo for a possible reverse takeover next year.

Anglo is considered vulnerable by many mining analysts because its wide spread of divisions are ripe for breaking up. In recent months Anglo has been linked with Rio Tinto, Xstrata and others.

Numis Securities in a note to clients yesterday said: It increasingly appears that there may be a hotly contested battle for Anglo American, the key protagonists being Xstrata, CVRD, Rusal and, somewhat less likely, Rio Tinto. Further players, such as a Chinese consortium, joining the fray is also possible.

Anglo is a sprawling industrial conglomerate that includes some of the worlds biggest mines, a 51 per cent stake in AngloGold Ashanti and a 45 per cent stake in De Beers.

It has been divesting non-core assets in a bid to improve its focus and will seek an initial public offering for its Mondi paper and packaging division later this year, which could raise about $7 billion.

Anglo is also considering the sale of its 51 per cent stake in AngloGold Ashanti.

The companys supporters insist that Anglo is on track and its share price has risen 37 per cent since October last year, when it announced a strategic review of its various divisions. By comparison BHPs shares are up 21 per cent and Rios 28 per cent.

Anglo will also return $7.5 billion (4 billion) to shareholders this year through buybacks.

With both Xstrata and Brazils CVRD having just completed deals worth more than $20 billion and Rusal integrating its rivals Sual and Glencore, a takeover may not be possible until next year. Also, Mr Gilbertsons hopes may not sit well with Rusals existing management.

Numis said: We continue to believe that an Anglo American take-out is a 12- to 18-month story.

The Times - October 24, 2006

Anglo's new boss has his work cut out - James Harding


ANGLO AMERICAN is about to appoint a new chief executive. This is one of the best jobs in world business. It is also one of the easiest.

This may seem a strange thing to say about running a politically fraught business operating dangerous machinery underground in unstable countries and selling into an unpredictable market. Anglo employs 195,000 people, many of whom work deep down mines or, literally, at the coal face. Anglos future prospects lie in such investor-friendly locations as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Russia. Its reputation, particularly in South Africa, is as volatile as the price of its commodities.

And its image is as a listless company that it is no longer judged by its own merits, but by the likelihood of an imminent takeover or break-up.

The chief executives job at Anglo is, nonetheless, a gift. The contribution of the outgoing chief executive, Tony Trahar, has been widely under-estimated. Mr Trahar has set in train the structural changes needed to focus the company on its future as a diversified miner. It will spin off Mondi, the packaging business and it is selling down its stake in Anglo Gold. As you would expect of a business riding a commodities boom, the numbers are strong: Anglo reported earnings up 47 per cent at its interims in August. There is a $6.2 billion (3.3 billion) pipeline of projects approved for development and a further $10-$15 billion of projects on the drawing board. Even amid the talk of managerial drift at Anglo, the share price is nicely buoyed by the expectations of a bid for the company.

In short, Mr Trahars successor has a gaping opportunity to turn around perceptions, providing a new personal dynamism, while profiting from the underlying momentum of the business. The person able to make the most of this opportunity is an outsider. The appointment of someone who did not grow up in Anglo will itself signal an appetite for change. Mr Trahar joined Anglo American in 1974.

In London, there has been speculation that Philippe Varin, the boss of Corus, is being lined up for the job. In fact, Mr Varin has been approached, but told Anglo that he wants to stay at the steelmaker. In South Africa, there has been talk that Miklos Salomon, who begins a relatively youthful retirement from BHP Billiton at the end of this week, will be asked to lead Anglo. That, too, may be wishful thinking. Anglo would have to wait for the better part of a year, before Mr Salomon had served out the non-compete clause in his contract.

Whoever gets the job will be measured by his ability to maintain Anglos independence. Success means showing investors that Anglo can manage its assets better than a rival, say Rio Tinto or Rusal. To achieve that, the next chief executive will have to: one, renew focus on costs and efficiencies; two, complete the portfolio restructuring; three, improve the communication and definition of strategy; and, four, drive ahead a select list of new priorities, making difficult choices between projects in Peru, Brazil, Congo and Russia. Most importantly, he will need to be able to manage people. Anglo, even after its planned spin-offs, will have about 125,000 employees, by comparison with 32,000 at BHP, 28,000 at Rio. He and, lets face it, the next Anglo boss is most likely to be a man would also be well-advised to seek to depoliticise the company in South Africa.

Anglo American should not be defined as a takeover target. It should be redefined by its next chief executive.

The Times - October 25, 2006

Shares drop as Anglo names new chief - By David Robertson


ANGLO AMERICAN, the worlds third biggest mining group, lost 544 million in value yesterday after appointing Cynthia Carroll, a relative unknown, as chief executive.

Mrs Carroll, who will receive a salary of up to 4 million a year including bonuses, has spent the past 18 years at Alcan, the Canadian aluminium producer.

Analysts were surprised by the choice because Mrs Carroll has a low profile outside the aluminium industry, and they questioned what abilities Anglo had seen in Mrs Carroll that Alcan had not when it passed her over for the chief executives job this year. Anglo American pointed out that Mrs Carroll, who was president of Alcans primary metals group, has a strong record in developing project pipelines.

Anglo is in the middle of a restructuring that will see it divest non-core assets and its lack of focus has led to speculation that it will become the target for predators wanting to break it up.

The companys share price dropped 36p to 23.79 after the appointment. But Mrs Carroll, who will replace Tony Trahar when he retires on March 1, told The Times last night that she was unconcerned by the market reaction. She said: There are a lot of challenges ahead and I dont want to lose the momentum that Anglo has built up in its restructuring programme.

Cynthia Carroll

Telegraph.co.uk - 25/10/2006

Who is Cynthia Carroll? - by Katherine Griffiths


Anglo American appoints FTSE's third female CEO

Cynthia Carroll will be the first woman and outsider to become chief executive of Anglo American in its 89-year history. Moreover, the 49 year old American will become only the third female chief executive of a FTSE 100 company. The others are Dame Marjorie Scardino, chief executive of publishing group Pearson, and Dorothy Thompson at the power station operator Drax. Ms Carroll studied at the University of Kansas and has an MBA from Harvard.

She started her career as a geologist at Amoco, now part of BP, and joined Montreal-based Alcan in 1988. Her roles at the Canadian company have included heading up a division in Ireland. Alcan is the world's second-biggest aluminum producer, behind Alcoa.

On taking up her post next March Ms Carroll will receive a basic salary of 900,000. On top of that she will be able to earn up to 1.3m through one bonus scheme and 1.6m via a long-term incentive plan. Ms Carroll will start her job on a two-year contract, which reduces to a one-year notice period after the first 12 months. She will be compensated for loss of bonus at Alcan.

Other high flying women in UK boardrooms include Linda Cook, head of Shell's gas and power interests, Rona Fairhead, chief executive of the Financial Times, and Alison Carnwath, who sits on various boards including Man Group, Friends Provident and Gallaher. There are a total of 13 women holding executive director roles at FTSE 100 companies, down from 20 a year ago.

Ms Carroll is currently a director of Sara Lee and sits on the board of the American Aluminium Association and the International Aluminium Institute.

That would explain the price drop today LOL.

Telegraph.com - 29/10/2006

Carroll: 'I can cut it at Anglo'

The new head of Anglo-American, Cynthia Carroll, is unfazed by the torrent of criticism and the 500m drop in the share price that greeted her appointment. She talks to Sylvia Pfeifer


It was hardly an auspicious start. When Anglo American, one of the world's largest mining companies, announced it had appointed Cynthia Carroll, an unknown executive from Alcan, the aluminium company, as its new chief executive, investors sent the shares tumbling down.

But if Carroll is in any way concerned or embarrassed about having wiped more than 500m off the 35.6bn market value of her new employer in just one day, she certainly doesn't show it. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Carroll says: "It doesn't concern me one bit".

Has she bought any shares yet to show her commitment to her new employer? The answer elicits a bout of laughter. It turns out that Carroll has been bombarded with e-mails from people saying they are buying. Will she follow suit? She won't say.

Anglo has traditionally always appointed an insider, and the market had speculated that the external frontrunners were more well-known industry figures such as Philippe Varin, the head of Corus. No one expected a conservative company like Anglo to appoint an unknown, let alone a woman. Carroll insists that, just like the share price reaction, the blanket press coverage of her being the first woman to lead a mining group miners have traditionally not allowed women underground believing it would bring bad luck has not phased her.

"It's not an issue from my standpoint," says Carroll. "I've worked in male-dominated industries and environments my entire career It just comes down to delivering performance and results and building a global company that is joined together and moving all in the right direction. I think that initial reaction will dissipate pretty fast."

When Carroll takes over from Tony Trahar, the outgoing chief executive, next March, she will join the relatively short list of unknown Americans Eric Daniels at Lloyds TSB, Arun Sarin at Vodafone and Marjorie Scardino at Pearson spring to mind whose appointment took the City by surprise. Not all of them have been an unqualified success.

The 49-year-old has a challenge on her hands. Although Carroll lauds the company's "tremendous asset base" and "fantastically proud workforce", she will need a lot more if she is going to build Anglo into a truly global miner.

Despite the recent commodities boom, the company's share price has lagged that of the rest of the industry over the past few years, partly because of the perceived political risk associated with South Africa as well as the company's smaller exposure to base metals. It moved its primary listing from Johannesburg to London in 1999, but in a sign of just how important South Africa remains to Anglo's fortunes, Carroll flew to Johannesburg right after her appointment was made public for a meet-and-greet with her new colleagues.

Unlike international rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, Anglo is also still in the midst of transforming itself from a South African gold and platinum miner, a transformation begun by Trahar. Last October, Trahar unveiled a restructuring plan designed to boost its stock, including the demerger of Mondi, its paper and packaging business, and the sale of shares in AngloGold Ashanti, its South African gold division.

The moves have been welcomed by investors, but analysts say the company's new CEO now needs to cut costs and improve the productivity of its resource base. Heath Jansen, analyst at Citigroup, points out that last year, Anglo's salary costs were a massive $5.4bn compared with $2.3bn at Rio Tinto.

Carroll refuses to talk about her plans for Anglo, arguing that she needs to get her feet on the ground first.

"I really need to understand how we fit, and what further opportunities there are to enhance our position and to extract more operational excellence from the asset base," is all she will say.

What, though, of the fact that she has no experience running a diversified mining company, let alone one the size of Anglo American? At Alcan, Carroll was a divisional head, albeit of the company's largest.

No problem, says Carroll. "I have a geology background, which is a big plus. I understand the language, I can appreciate the context, that is number one. More directly related to the business, I have been working in a global context in a big way, I was very involved in the Pechiney integration [bought by Alcan in 2003]."

Nor is she a novice when it comes to dealing with governments. At Alcan, where her division employed 18,000 people in 20 countries, she also worked with governments around the world, from Oman to the Middle East to China.

Dealing with the South African government, whose relations with Anglo have not always been cordial, will not be a problem, according to Carroll who says she is looking forward to "spending some more time" with them.

Carroll comes across as someone who is, at the very least, up for a challenge. She intends to move to London in January, while her husband and her four children, aged seven to 13, will follow later in the summer. Asked how she has managed to juggle such a large family with a career her husband, whose background is in accounting and finance, stayed at home after the birth of their fourth child just after they moved from Ireland to Montreal she credits her ability to set priorities.

"I live a very balanced life," she says. "I am very good at delegating responsibilities." Her husband, she says, has never been resentful and "takes satisfaction in the way our children are today".

Whether Carroll ultimately fares better than some of her American counterparts remains to be seen. Ultimately, her appointment at Anglo is perhaps less relevant than the fact that the position has been filled by an outsider someone who, unlike Trahar, carries no historic baggage.

Says Citigroup's Jansen: "They need an outsider to alter the DNA of the company, to change the culture."

Telegraph.com - 29/10/2006

Business comment - By Dan Roberts, Sunday Business Editor

Boards should listen without prejudice



Tony Trahar may have big hands and a grip that could crush rocks but to listen to some of the talk in the mining industry last week you would think the outgoing chief executive of Anglo American was down there every morning digging out diamonds with his fingernails.

The accepted version of events is not without pathos. The scene opens in a macho saloon bar full of male mining characters with butch nicknames like "Big Mick". Whenever they go down the mine, they are reminded of the old superstition that says it is bad luck to let women go underground.

Then last Tuesday, a door swings open and in walks the new boss: a woman. Once the gruff coughing subsides, word leaks out to the investors and there is a run on the share price. Before the day is ended, some 500m has been lost and the shareholders have revealed themselves to be almost as irredeemably sexist as the companies they own.

Unfortunately, this interpretation of the City's reaction to the appointment of Cynthia Carroll as Anglo American's chief executive is as misleading as it is simplistic.

The first myth to knock on the head is that the men running global mining are all horny-handed sons of toil whose cultural attitudes are stuck in the 19th century. Today's global mining companies are thousands of miles from the coal face literally. Based mostly in London, these multinational giants may have more swagger than some but there is nothing spit and sawdust about their modern, cosmopolitan headquarters.

More importantly, the shareholders who reacted so unenthusiastically to Carroll's appointment should not be dismissed as sexist just because they do not think she is up to the job. No doubt some of the more trigger-happy traders may have been encouraged to mark down Anglo shares on some misguided notion that this is man's work, but the idea that so much real money would have been taken off the table on a whim is hard to swallow.

Genuine concerns remain about Carroll's limited qualifications for the job and why the board failed to attract the more senior candidates it was widely known to have been pursuing. The lingering suspicion is that the 49-year-old American is there because she ticks the right boxes for today's breed of politically correct headhunter rather than because she is the ideal candidate to lead Anglo through its big challenges. It would not be the first time.

There are far too few women at the top of big companies, but there are also far too few women in the middle of big companies. Until this is addressed, no amount of fast-tracking will fix the problem. For every positive discrimination candidate who succeeds there will also be those who do not casting unfair suspicion on those who do get there by merit.

In management as in everything thing else, what matters is ability. Age, gender, race and sexual preference are all about as relevant as the size of Tony Trahar's hands.

The Sunday Times - October 29, 2006

Anglo a new chief and a new direction - DOMINIC O'CONNELL


EXECUTIVES reading our exclusive interview with Cynthia Carroll, the new boss of Anglo American, will be chuckling appreciatively by the end.

Unlike many incoming chief executives, who are only too keen to throw their weight around and talk about their big plans for their new commands, Carroll carefully avoids offering too many hostages to fortune.

She is wise to do so. She is taking over from a long-serving chief executive, Tony Trahar, who oversaw a steady process of diversification away from the core mining activities, only to begin to reverse the policy towards the end of his time with the company. The end result is the creation of Mondi, a new company that will be created later this year by the spin- off of Anglos paper and packaging interests.

To offer a snap judgment on where Anglo needs to go from here would simply be tempting fate. But as Carroll does her tour of the African mines that are the companys heartbeat, she should reflect that in choosing her, the board was in effect embracing a mandate for change.

If the directors wanted Anglo to continue on its familiar path, they would undoubtedly have chosen an insider, or a South African (all the companys bosses have to date been South Africans), or an experienced executive from another mining company.

But they didnt. They chose a rank outsider, one with almost no profile in the City, and as if to make a point in a male-dominated industry a woman.

Carroll should take that as a clear indication that she can take a radical approach. I would bet the shake-up of Anglo started by Trahar will accelerate.

The Times - November 11, 2006

Chinese tycoon in $800m Anglo share buy - By Carl Mortished


The Oppenheimer family has sold a third of its stake in Anglo American to China Vision Resources, a company controlled by the Chinese tycoon Larry Yung.

E Oppenheimer & Sons, the family investment company, said that it had sold 17 million shares in the mining company, which was founded by Sir Ernest Oppenheimer early in the last century.

The family will continue to hold 40 per cent of De Beers, the diamond group and its remaining 2 per cent in Anglo.

The value of the deal, which was not disclosed, is likely to have been in excess of $800 million (418 million).

Shares in Anglo gained 2 per cent yesterday in response to the purchase by China Vision Resources, a special purpose vehicle created for the transaction.

Anglo has world-class interests in platinum, gold, diamonds and coal, mainly in southern Africa, but the company has been the subject of bid speculation and is engaged in a restructuring and sale of its non-mining interests.

Demand for metals is soaring in China and the country is already a leading consumer of precious metals, such as gold and platinum, owing to an anticipated surge in demand for catalytic converters in a fast-growing nation of car owners.

Larry Yung, who is believed to be behind China Vision Resources, is the chairman of Citic Pacific, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate with interests in steel, iron ore, property and infrastructure. Mr Yung topped Chinas rich list last year in Forbes magazine, with an estimated personal fortune of $1.6 billion.

Nicky Oppenheimer, the chairman of De Beers, said that the sale reflected the familys desire to diversify its holdings into areas other than mining. Mr Oppenheimer was at pains yesterday to declare his support for the restructuring and last months appointment of Cynthia Carroll as chief executive.

She is just the right person to lead Anglo into the future, he said.

Chinese companies are engaged in a scramble to acquire control of mineral resources in Africa. The countrys construction and manufacturing expansion is sucking in imports of copper and iron ore, as well as precious metals, such as platinum.

The leading Chinese oil companies CNOOC, CNPC and PetroChina are scouring the continent for hydrocarbons. Angola is already a leading supplier of crude oil to China.

Broker note from Numis today (summary):
"The mining sector lends itself to long-term analysis. This report, six months
in the making, argues that sector equities are 'myopic', attributing little value to
company pipelines and the power of Chinese urbanisation. The combination of
these factors will produce upside to current share prices of 50-100%. Anglo
American is our top pick."

Credit Suisse has lowered its price target for diversified miner Anglo American from 2,500p to 2,200p after slashing its forecasts on the back of lower volumes within copper and iron ore. The broker said that Anglo is expected to lag peers on volume growth over the next two years (2-3% per annum in 2013/14); "we believe the market continues to underestimate the potential margin squeeze in 2013 and beyond." Earnings per share (EPS) estimates for 2012, 2013 and 2014 have been reduced by 7%, 3% and 13%, respectively. With the valuation being "far from compelling", the broker maintains its 'hold' rating on the stock

Shares in Anglo American ended October 86p up on 1,903p. That's only a little under 5%, but it could be the start of something bigger.

Anglo shares have crashed this year as the miner's profits took a hit -- disproportionately higher than the rest of the sector, so it wasn't all down to falling commodities demand. But the shares have been creeping up over the month, and got an extra boost when the firm announced that chief executive Cynthia Carroll is to step down.

The well-publicised problems surrounding platinum mining in South Africa remain, but if they can be addressed over the next few months, it could turn out that we're at a good buying opportunity now.

Anglo American appoints new Chief Executive

Anglo American appoints Mark Cutifani as Chief Executive

Anglo American plc ("Anglo American") announces the appointment of Mark Cutifani as Chief Executive, with effect from 3 April 2013.

Mark Cutifani has been Chief Executive Officer of AngloGold Ashanti Limited, the South Africa-based gold producer, since 2007 and has led the successful restructuring and development of its business, which includes operations in ten countries on four continents.

Prior to his current role, Mr Cutifani was the Chief Operating Officer of CVRD Inco, the Canadian nickel company. He started his career in the coal and gold mining industries in Australia and has experience across a wide range of commodities. He has a degree in Mining Engineering and is the current President of the South African Chamber of Mines.

Fall in output http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4689330

JP Morgan Cazenove reiterates underweight on Anglo American, target cut from 1040p to 980p.

RBC note today:
"New headwinds face Anglo: We have adjusted our model for the recent Q1 production, and remodeled AngloPlat to come to a lower value. In addition, we see De Beers contributing less this year to Anglo because of soft conditions in diamonds which will limit volume and sales prices, and slow the rehabilitation of Anglo's balance sheet. The contribution of the bulks in the portfolio also remains under pressure. These factors have led to a lower valuation in our model and a change in Price Target to £9/share, with a downgrade in our recommendation to Underperform.
Challenging the "cheap" tag: Anglo's forward EBITDA and P/E multiples seem to compare favourably with its peer group, and it remains the most diversified of the large miners. But over the next few years free cashflow generation remains under pressure, and is threatened under a weaker price scenario. Essentially, debt continues to grow through 2017 as, on our numbers, free cash flow remains negative. Anglo's structure contributes to multiples appearing more attractive than they are, we believe. Using EBITDA as a proxy for cash flow, we modify Anglo's figures to account only for the cash received from AngloPlat and Kumba (ordinary dividends), and proportionately consolidate the EBITDA of De Beers. The result is a worsening in EV/EBITDA multiples relative to the peer group
Diamonds slow: De Beers was the largest contributor the earnings in 2014, and looks set to remain near the top of the ranking in 2015. Conditions in the diamond market have deteriorated with the result that Anglo has guided down De Beers' production this year from 32-34mct to 30-32mct; and we see potential for sales to suffer more in the near-term with prices under some pressure. We have modeled lower sales and prices and this results in De Beers' contribution to Anglo's bottom line falling from $776m to $428m.
The dividend intact for now: We do not see Anglo cutting its $1.1bn ordinary dividend this year, though it will remain a discussion point, we think, given negative free cashflow and rising debt due to still significant capex in iron ore, metcoal and diamonds.
Changing numbers: We adjust our model which results in cuts to our EPS and CFPS forecasts. Our FY15E EPS forecast of $1.15/sh compares with consensus of $1.04/share; our FY16E EPS reduces to $1.37/sh, vs. consensus at $1.48/sh. Our NAV cuts to £11.95/sh. As a result our Price Target, based on 1x NAV and 9x a blend of FY15E and FY16E EPS, reduces to £9/sh.

Investec retains hold on Anglo American, target cut from 1062p to 872p.

Anglo American receives total cash proceeds of $1.6 billion for sale of 50% interest in Lafarge Tarmac

Anglo American plc ("Anglo American") announces that it has completed the sale of its 50% ownership interest in Lafarge Tarmac Holdings Limited ("Lafarge Tarmac") to Lafarge SA ("Lafarge"). Anglo American has received cash proceeds of approximately £992 million ($1,559 million), constituting the agreed minimum consideration of £885 million set out in the July 2014 binding agreement and approximately £107 million of working capital and other adjustments, subject to certain post-closing adjustments.

The completion of this transaction brings the aggregate proceeds received by Anglo American for the sale of its Tarmac assets to approximately $2.5 billion since 2008.

StockMarketWire.com
Kumba Iron Ore will contribute $192m to Anglo American's underlying earnings for the six months to the end of June - down from $409m last year.

Kumba Iron Ore's IFRS headline earnings fell to $213m - down from $606m last time.

Anglo American will report its results for the six months ended 30 June on 24 July.

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American posts a pre-tax loss of $1,920m for the six months to the end of June - compared with a profit of $2,945m a year ago. The group booked commodity price-driven impairments of $3.5 billion after tax, including $2.9 billion at Minas-Rio.

Underlying earnings fell by 30% to $904m and group revenues were down by 17% at $13,346. Underlying EBITDA fell by 24% to $3,280m.

Productivity improvements and indirect and capital cost reductions accelerated, with disposals being progressed: - $1.5 billion of operating and indirect cost reductions and productivity gains targeted in H2 2015 and 2016 (operating costs $800 million, productivity gains $400 million, indirect costs $300 million)

- Additional capital expenditure reductions of up to $1.0 billion by end 2016

- $1.6 billion of disposal proceeds delivered in July 2015



Chief executive Mark Cutifani said: "The transformation of Anglo American that I set out 18 months ago is progressing, despite considerable external challenges. I expect the operational turnaround to generate $1.2 billion(4) of underlying EBIT upside over the next 18 months, in addition to the $1.7 billion delivered to date. Structurally, we are focusing the portfolio around those assets that are of the scale and quality to generate most value to the Group.

"We expect to generate proceeds of at least $3 billion from asset sales, including the $1.6 billion received from the sale of our 50% interest in Lafarge Tarmac. We are unrelenting in enforcing strict cost and capital discipline across Anglo American, building upon the unit cost reductions delivered to date. Combined with planned capital expenditure reductions of up to $1.0 billion by end 2016, we are on track to deliver our long term net debt target of $10 billion to $12 billion, with net debt after the Lafarge Tarmac proceeds at $11.9 billion.

"Having defined our portfolio and significantly improved operational performance, now is the right time to accelerate the right-sizing of the organisation that supports the future business; we are targeting a $500 million total cost saving, of which $300 million will be realised from our ongoing core business, through the reduction of 6,000 overhead and other indirect roles, a 46% decrease, including those that will transfer with the businesses we are divesting. Post asset sales, we expect to have reduced our number of assets from 55 to 40 and reduced total employees by 35%, while maintaining copper equivalent production.

"As a result, and following the asset disposals and further business improvement, our underlying EBITDA margin of 25% in the first half of 2015 would increase to 35% on a like for like basis, representing a 40% improvement off a substantially lower cost base."

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American's third quarter production increased by 2% (on a copper equivalent basis) compared to a year ago and by 3% compared to the previous three months.

Iron ore production from Kumba decreased by 12% to 11.4 million tonnes due to a temporary lack of sufficient exposed high quality ore for blending purposes at Sishen and adjustments to the mine plan and schedule as it transitions to the lower cost pit configuration. Minas-Rio produced 2.9 million tonnes (wet basis) of iron ore, a 60% increase compared to Q2 2015, reflecting the ongoing ramp up of the operation. Export metallurgical coal production increased by 8% to 5.5 million tonnes, driven by productivity improvements at Grasstree, which more than offset the loss of production from Peace River Coal being placed on care and maintenance in December 2014. Export thermal coal production was broadly flat at 8.8 million tonnes, with higher production at Cerrejón offsetting lower production from South Africa. Copper production from retained operations increased by 1%, while total production decreased by 3% to 171,100 tonnes as a result of the sale of the Norte assets, effective for reporting from 1 September. Nickel production decreased by 36% to 6,800 tonnes due to the planned Barro Alto furnace rebuilds. Both furnace rebuilds are now complete, ahead of schedule and below budgeted cost, with Furnace 2 operating at design capacity and Furnace 1 currently being ramped up. Platinum production (expressed as metal in concentrate)(6) increased by 14% to 614,300 ounces due to Rustenburg, Amandelbult and Union mines ramping up to normal production levels during the comparable period in 2014 following the strike. Diamond production decreased by 27% to 6.0 million carats, following the decision to reduce production to better reflect current trading conditions.

RBC note today:
A mixed bag of production which will likely be overshadowed by production cuts in iron ore, diamonds and copper (previously guided).
Iron ore beat guidance cut: Kumba production of 11.4mt was a beat vs. RBC at 10.6mt driven by better performance from Sishen and a resurgence in production from Kolomela. Anglo has trimmed Kumba production guidance by 1mt to ~43mt, with weaker production expected from Sishen (31mt vs. 33mt previously) as waste mining picks up; this is offset partially by a 1mt increase to guidance for Kolomela (this will see an increase in waste mining). Minas Rio continues its ramp up with production of 2.9mt, although water issues in the quarter drove a miss vs. our 4mt estimate and Anglo has revised down its Minas Rio FY15 production guidance to 10mt from 11-14mt.
Copper misses: Copper production of 171kt was a miss vs. RBC at 191kt driven by a mixture of weaker throughput at Los Bronces due to water constraints (which have now abated) and weaker production vs. our forecasts from the AA Norte assets which were sold in the quarter. Production guidance has been reduced to 680-710kt (from 720-750kt) to reflect the sale of the AA Norte assets (~37kt) and a ~3kt cut at Collahuasi as oxide production is curtailed.
Export met up: Australian export met production of 5.5mt was a beat vs. RBC at 5.2mt due to stronger performance from Capcoal, while thermal export lagged our 1.9mt forecast at 1.4mt as Drayton nears the end of its life, and thermal domestic production of 1.8mt was lower than our 2.2mt forecast. Production guidance is unchanged at 20-21mt.
Thermal weaker: SA export thermal production of 4.9mt was in line vs. RBC; however, Eskom thermal production lagged our 7.7mt forecast at 6.8mt due to weaker demand, and non-Eskom thermal production of 1.7mt was a touch below our 1.8mt forecast. Cerrejon produced 2.5mt, vs. RBC at 3mt. Production guidance for export thermal is unchanged at 28-30mt.
Platinum broadly in line: Refined platinum production of 611koz was in line vs. RBC at 618koz, while refined palladium production of 391koz was in line with our 389koz; refined rhodium lagged our 87koz forecast at 78koz. Production guidance is unchanged at 2.3-2.4moz.
Diamonds miss: Diamonds continues its challenging year with production of 6mct missing our 7.4mct forecast driven by the bringing forward of planned maintenance at Jwaneng and Orapa due to weaker market conditions. Production guidance has been revised down to 29mct from ~29-31mct.
Nickel upside: Nickel production of 6.8kt slightly lagged our 7.2kt forecast, although progress at Barro Alto continues ahead of schedule and budget. FY15 guidance raised to 28-30kt (from 25-30kt).

nearly $20 billion of debt or over 3 times market cap. If it was a boxer the towel would be being prepped for launch..

Who goes first GLEN or AAL?

Anglo American sets out radical portfolio restructuring and further material cost savings and capex reduction

Key highlights to be set out in the presentation include:

Radical portfolio restructuring
· Focus on Priority 1 assets to deliver free cash flow and greater returns through the cycle - number of assets to be reduced by ~60%
· Corporate structures and overhead to be aligned to future portfolio
o Consolidate from six to three businesses: De Beers, Industrial Metals, Bulk Commodities
o London office co-locating with De Beers in 2017

Driving operational discipline
· $3.7 billion of cost and productivity improvements targeted from 2013 to 2017:
o $1.6 billion delivered by end 2015(1), including $0.3 billion in 2H15
o $1.1 billion in 2016
o $1.0 billion in 2017, with potential to accelerate in part into 2016
· Care & maintenance / closure of cash negative assets - Snap Lake C&M, Thabazimbi closure

Protecting the balance sheet
· Capex reductions expected of a further c.$1 billion(2) to the end of 2016
o $2.9 billion aggregate capex reduction vs. original guidance(3) for 2015-2017
o $2.5 billion capex in 2017, a c.55% reduction vs. 2014
o SIB & capitalised stripping capex reduction of 30% from 2014 to $2.0 billion in 2016
· Disposals target increased to $4.0 billion - Phosphates and Niobium confirmed for sale
o c.$2.0 billion asset disposals agreed to date
· Dividend suspended in respect of 2H15 and 2016 - upon resumption, policy will change to pay-out ratio to provide flexibility through the cycle and clarity for shareholders
· Net debt guidance at end 2015 unchanged at $13.0 - 13.5 billion, despite price deterioration
· c.$15 billion of liquidity maintained and limited refinancing required in 2016 of $1.6 billion
· Expected impairments of $3.7 - $4.7 billion, largely due to weaker prices and asset closures

Likely to be more chances to get in but those who bought earlier in the week are doing well on the week!

Canaccord note today:
"Anglo American reported underlying EBITDA of US$4,854M, down 38% from US $7,832M, and underlying earnings were US$827M, down 63% from US$2,217M in 2014. Underlying eps was also off 63%, at 64c vs 173c in 2014. Net debt at year end was US$12.9bn compared with guidance of US$13.0-13.5bn. The company said that it is free cashflow positive at current commodity prices, and anticipates an additional US$1.9bn EBIT benefit from additional cost and productivity gains in 2016. Anglo is targeting US$3-4bn of asset disposals this year, and pro forma net debt of US$10bn by year-end. Forecast capital expenditure for 2016 has been reduced by only US$200M relative to December guidance levels (to US$3.0bn), while 2017 capex, at US$2.5bn, is in line with December guidance.
Anglo American has now provided the detail on a more aggressive plan than we or the market anticipated. The company will focus on diamonds, Platinum Group Metals and copper. All other assets will be managed for cash generation or disposal. This potentially adds all coal, iron ore and nickel assets to the “For Sale” list which already included the Niobium and Phosphate businesses, and selective assets in coal and platinum. The company hopes to deliver US$3-4bn of asset sales this year, and US$5-6bn in total. If fully implemented, the asset portfolio would shrink from 55 assets in 2014 to 45 in 2015, and eventually just 16 core assets.
Following our review of the 2015 results, we have revised our estimates, primarily to reflect a slightly higher cost profile than we had been forecasting at most assets. The forecasts are based upon the current business, so clearly as the disposal programme proceeds, there could be some material changes to estimates. We now forecast 2016 underlying EBITDA of US$3,770M (previously US$4,252M), underlying earnings of US$317M (was US$461M) and eps of 25c (from 36c). The company has already announced that no dividend would be paid for 2016.
The revised restructuring plan is bold, but high risk. The company will be seen as a forced seller and a price-taker by potential asset acquirers. Anglo will need to take care with its restructuring, particularly in South Africa, where it plans to exit a substantial asset base, but retain diamond and platinum interests. Our 350p target price (unchanged), based on NPV, rolling 12-month earnings vs the market and EV/ EBITDA, includes a 25% discount for implementation risk. Even if the plan can be successfully executed, with diamonds and platinum, Anglo’s residual portfolio will be a later cycle, more consumer-driven portfolio and earnings may recover later than at its more diversified peers. Given these factors, and the fact that the share price has almost doubled since its January lows, we downgrade our recommendation from Hold to SELL."

Harry
Do you hold these?
I have Glencore, which is much worse performer!!

No I don't hold any miners except VED, but I do keep a close watch and at some point they will come back into fashion..........not yet though. Good luck with GLEN. I just don't understand their business model any more, so not one I would consider holding.

Deutsche Bank note today:
"In this note we examine the high quality longwall assets that Anglo American has put up for sale in Australia and potential buyers. These coal assets form the most valuable part of the disposal programme, but are in a commodity that few are excited to enter. Achieving an acceptable valuation for shareholders may prove challenging. We think the two logical buyers are BHP and Rio. Both can extract operating synergies, BHP more though. We also think Japanese trading house, private equity, South32 and X2 may take a look.
We believe from BHP’s standpoint, the acquisition of Anglo’s coal assets would provide operational synergies around Goonyella and Caval Ridge, plus best practice opportunities which could unlock material value for Broadmeadow. But the company has made it clear that its preferred areas of investment are copper and oil. In addition, regulators are likely to investigate any acquisition by BHP. Rio Tinto has expressed interest in met coal previously, but does it need more exposure to Chinese steel? There may be synergies with its Kestrel UG mine. But does it want to assist in Anglo’s balance sheet repair or does it see other assets that may fall from the tree if the environment deteriorates further? Would the Japanese trading houses, PE, X2 or S32 have any interest? Based on a long term met coal price of US$125/t and AUDUSD of 75c our NPV of Grosvenor and Moranbah is US$3.3bn. Every US$5/t reduction in our LT met coal price curve reduces NPV by US$328m.
Anglo has announced it is shrinking its operations to three core areas and has effectively put “the for sale sign up” on all remaining assets. It has also talked about debt reduction to US$6bn, suggesting US$7bn of disposals. But in reality, we expect Anglo to try and sell only a portion of the assets for sale. The extent of any disposal program beyond the US$3-4bn targeted for 2016 will be dependent on progress on cost cutting and operational gains as well as operating cash flow. Investors should focus on progress towards the 2.5x ratio more than the absolute level of debt reduction, in our opinion. Given the size of the disposal program (1x current market cap potentially) management will be under significant pressure to limit the value destruction on any single disposal by their owners- the shareholders.
The underlying value of Anglo’s assets remains materially in excess of the current share price. However, execution risk around the disposal program remains high making any investment case difficult without signs of progress on delivery. Main risks include higher/lower commodity prices, stronger/weaker FX and progress or delays on the disposal program."

Jefferies note today:
"We hosted Anglo’s CEO, Mark Cutifani, FD, Rene Medori, and Head of IR, Paul Galloway, for meetings in the US yesterday. Investors are in general skeptical about the company’s ability to deliver on its planned restructuring. We are waiting for real progress before including the potential value uplift in our analysis. The ball is in Anglo’s court, and it is time for mgmt to prove the doubters wrong.
Core Anglo has value: Anglo’s restructuring plan involves selling non core assets to pay down debt and improve margins. According to mgmt, core Anglo (DeBeers, Platinum, Copper) will consist of just 16 assets (versus 45 today) and will generate $2.5bn-$4.0bn of EBITDA through the cycle with net debt of just $6bn (versus Anglo’s net debt of $12.9bn). At the midpoint of the EBITDA range and a mid-cycle EV/EBITDA multiple of 6.5x, core Anglo’s fair equity value would be $15.3bn, or 833p per share.
Restructuring risks: Anglo believes that selling non-core assets is a better approach than issuing equity or selling core assets at premium multiples. Mr Cutifani argues that the resource optionality within tier-1 mines is difficult to value and it is unlikely that full value would be realized in a sale. In the case of non-core assets, the difference between Anglo’s assumed valuation and the buyer’s valuation should be mostly a function of differing commodity price assumptions. Mgmt believes it can realize full value for these non-core assets. Investors, however, are concerned that the sale process will take too much time and that the company’s ability to sell these assets for “full value” depends on commodity prices staying firm. Several investors would prefer an equity issuance as a faster, less risky solution. Either way, it is clear that deleveraging is essential for Anglo.
Fade the rally: Based on our analysis, the tradeoff between risk and reward is not favorable in AAL shares at the current price. The recent rally has been extraordinary, with the AAL share price up 137% since Jan 20. Some of that could be attributed to a modest recovery in commodity prices and improved sentiment toward the sector, but we are reluctant to give Anglo additional credit for restructuring targets at this time. We would take profits after the recent strength.
Valuation/Risks
Higher commodity prices and/or successful restructuring are risks to our Underperform rating. Our 300p target is at a discount to NPV due to operational risks. We are not modeling restructuring benefits at this time."

UBS note today:
"We downgrade Anglo to Sell (from Neutral), lifting our price target to £4.00/s. The stock is up 137% from the low in mid-Jan, outperforming the sector by ~85%. We believe the outlook for Anglo's key commodity prices has not improved materially and the execution risk with the proposed restructuring remains high. Our key concern is that Anglo will struggle to sell coal, nickel and iron ore assets at attractive prices in the current market and thus, if they do, it could be destructive to shareholder value."

.

Investec today reaffirms its sell investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 303p (from 153p).

Public Investment Corp, the South African pension fund manager, raises its stake to more than 11%, buying circa 8m shares in AAL.

JP Morgan Cazenove today reaffirms its underweight investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 450p (from 250p).

Global miner Anglo American suspended mining activities at its flagship Los Bronces copper mine and the smaller El Soldado deposit for security reasons.

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American's production guidance for 2016 remains unchanged after solid progress in the first quarter.

Diamond production decreased by 10% to 6.9 million carats, reflecting the decision to reduce production in response to trading conditions in 2015.

Platinum production (expressed as metal in concentrate) increased by 4% to 567,000 ounces driven primarily by increases at Amandelbult and Mogalakwena. Refined platinum production decreased by 52% due to a planned stocktake and a Section 54 safety stoppage at the Precious Metals Refinery (PMR) for 12 days.

Copper production from the retained operations (excluding the AA Norte assets that were sold effective 1 September 2015) was in line with Q1 2015. Overall production decreased by 15%.

Nickel production increased by 67% to 11,200 tonnes following the successful completion of the Barro Alto furnace rebuilds.

Iron ore production from Kumba decreased by 27% to 8.9 million tonnes as Sishen is being transitioned to a lower cost pit configuration.

Iron ore production from Minas-Rio increased to 3.3 million tonnes (wet basis) as the operation continues to ramp-up. Production increased by 3% vs. Q4 2015.

Export metallurgical coal production decreased by 9% to 4.5 million tonnes due to planned longwall moves taking place at both Moranbah and Grasstree, partially offset by improved operational performance at Dawson and development coal production at Grosvenor.

Export thermal coal production decreased by 13% to 7.7 million tonnes due to planned production cuts at Cerrejon as a result of market conditions and a change in mix at Landau to higher margin domestic sales.

Chief executive Mark Cutifani said "The Q1 2016 operating results are in line with the equivalent period of 2015 on a copper equivalent basis and reflect the major restructuring programme under way and our ongoing efficiency and cost reduction strategy. They also demonstrate the market discipline we continue to show in our key markets, particularly diamonds and platinum, and are consistent with our restructuring plans as we focus on lower cost and higher margin assets.

"We are encouraged that the actions we have taken in diamonds are continuing to have a positive effect, while operational productivity continues on an upward trajectory. As a consequence of our solid progress, our production guidance for 2016 remains unchanged."

Deutsche Bank today reaffirms its hold investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 690p (from 515p).

AAL is retreating... I feel it has gone up too fast without much good news at all.
Fundamentals still bleak and demand for commodities has not improve.
Now 680p.

hlyeo.....I think all of the miners have gone up a little too fast. The brokers are convinced that they are overvalued atm. Not sure if they are right, as some of their price targets are way off, imo. I am trying to keep most of the miner boards up to date as they have been pretty decent investments over the last five months. Just a matter of deciding if they have hit bottom and the cycle is changing.

Sell AAL now... crashing fast.

Share price downgraded to sell by Liberum Capital to 400p

I think it's time to sell AAL at 570p now

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American says the value of rough diamond sales for De Beers's fifth sales cycle of 2016, amounted to $560 million, compared with $636 million value of the fourth sales cycle of 2016.

De Beers Group chief executive Philippe Mellier said: "Sales in the fifth cycle of the year were somewhat lower than in the fourth cycle, in line with our expectations and typical seasonal demand patterns. Rough diamond demand and polished diamond prices remain stable, reflecting steady consumer demand, but we maintain a cautious outlook."

Credit Suisse today reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 700p (from 630p).

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American (AAL) said diamond production decreased by 19% to 6.4 million carats, reflecting the decision to reduce production in response to prevailing trading conditions in H2 2015.

Platinum production (expressed as metal in concentrate) increased by 1% to 585,700 ounces, whilst refined platinum production increased by 33% to 747,600 ounces.

This reflected the recovery at the Precious Metals Refinery after a planned stocktake and safety stoppage in Q1 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS:
- Copper production from the retained operations (excluding the AA Norte assets sold effective 1 September 2015) decreased by 8% to 144,200 tonnes. Expected lower grades and significant snowfall impacted operations at Los Bronces, albeit partly offset by plant stability improvements at Collahuasi.

- Nickel production increased by 76% to 11,100 tonnes following the successful completion of the Barro Alto furnace rebuilds in 2015.

- Iron ore production from Kumba decreased by 15% to 8.9 million tonnes as Sishen restructured (downsized) and transitioned the operations to a lower cost pit configuration.

- Iron ore production from Minas-Rio increased by 91% to 3.5 million tonnes (wet basis) as the operation continues its ramp-up.

- Export metallurgical coal production increased by 4% to 5.5 million tonnes due to first longwall production at Grosvenor in May and a longwall move at Grasstree in the prior year, partially offset by ramp-up at Moranbah after the completion of the longwall move in the prior quarter.

- Export thermal coal production decreased by 6% to 8.1 million tonnes due to ramping down production at Drayton where mining activities will cease in late 2016 and planned production cuts at Cerrejon, partly offset by higher production at most South African Export operations.

Anglo American chief executive Mark Cutifani said "The Q2 2016 operating results are in line with the equivalent period of 2015 on a copper equivalent basis.

"We are building upon the improving operational trend from the first quarter as we recover refined platinum production and continue to ramp-up Minas-Rio, Grosvenor and Barro Alto.

"We also continue to demonstrate discipline in our key markets, particularly diamonds and platinum, in line with our focus on higher margin and lower cost assets.

"The decisive actions taken by De Beers last year led to more normal trading conditions in the first half of 2016 with sales volumes increasing as a result, but we maintain a cautious outlook."

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American reported net debt at 30 June 2016 decreased to $11.7 billion (vs. $12.9 billion as at 31 December 2015) through cost discipline and working capital and capex reductions.

HIGHLIGHTS
- Attributable free cash flow of $1.1 billion (vs. $0.2 billion in H1 2015)

- Disposal proceeds of $1.5 billion agreed and expect to be completed in H2 2016

- Group underlying EBIT(1) of $1.4 billion, a 27% decrease, due to lower commodity prices ($1.2 billion underlying EBIT impact), partially offset by weaker producer country currencies ($0.9 billion underlying EBIT benefit) and incremental cost reductions

Operating performance and associated cost and capex reductions mitigating headwinds:
- Unit costs decreased by 19% (vs. H1 2015) in US dollar terms

- Expect to deliver $1.6 billion of cost and volume improvements in 2016

- $1.9 billion target included $300 million now reclassified as capex and working capital reduction

- $0.3 billion of cost and volume improvements delivered in H1 2016

- Commodity price-driven impairment of $1.2 billion relating to Moranbah and Grosvenor coal assets contributing to a loss before tax of $364 million

RBC note today:
"Our view: With the balance sheet striding towards rehabilitation and volume improvements in H2, Anglo’s rating likely to improve. Further, divestments provide catalysts for the shares. We upgrade to Outperform, with a £10/sh Price Target.
Key points: Upgrading on positive pointers from H1: We have adjusted our forecasts post the H1 figures; this and good progress on debt, costs, capex and productivity, has led us to increase our Price Target to £10/sh. Our recommendation is upgraded to Outperform. Risks remain commodity prices, South Africa and the impact of any GBP strength on the share price.
Good H1 results: H1 results came in above consensus and our forecasts despite disappointing production from Copper (Los Bronces). Across the group there was a strong effort to control or reduce costs (helped by currencies) and capex was controlled. In H2 there should be a greater benefit on costs from volumes, productivity and cost cutting (including headcount). While there will be lower activity in diamonds for seasonality reasons, volumes in Copper, Coal and Iron Ore should improve and Anglo expects to achieve its $1.6bn annual cost reduction; it could even do better.
Balance sheet starts to look respectable: The higher level of net debt is being reeled in with $1.1bn of free cash flow in H1 contributing to the reduction from $12.9bn at end-December 2015 to $11.7m at end-June. The target remains below $10bn for the year (we calculate $9.5bn), which seems certain given after-tax proceeds of ~$1.4bn from the May sale of Phosphates & Niobium and additional internal cash generation despite the likely non-recurence of the $500m working inflow in H1 as De Beers and Kumba have no surplus inventory now. As important as the net debt target is that Anglo moved below the 2.5x goal in terms of net debt:EBITDA after adjusting for the sale of Phosphates & Niobium.
Assets sales continue: Anglo faced many questions from analysts on whether it still needed to dispose of assets given an improving balance sheet. The company reiterated its target of being only invested in Copper, Diamonds and PGMs, but did acknowledge that achieving value for assets could influence the disposal timeline. We believe the next assets likely to be sold will be the Australian metcoal mines for a price of up to $1.5bn.
Dividend returns by end-FY17: At the end of next year Anglo targets resuming dividend payments, based on a payout ratio rather than the previous “progressive” policy. We conservatively assume a payout of $0.25/sh for FY18 though success on asset sales could make our timing conservative. The message is that Anglo is confident the balance sheet and debt rating will justify resuming dividends. This is a positive message which should help mitigate Anglo’s elevated exposure to South Africa."

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American has completed the sale of its 70% interest in the Foxleigh metallurgical coal mine in Queensland, Australia, to a consortium led by Taurus Fund Management, following the announcement of the sale and purchase agreement on 4 April.

Foxleigh is an open cut coal operation which produces high quality pulverised coal injection (PCI) coal, located in Queensland's Bowen Basin, 12 kilometres southwest of Middlemount.

Anglo American's attributable share of Foxleigh's saleable production was 1.86 million tonnes in 2015. Story

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American says operational improvements continue across the portfolio, delivering a 4% production increase on a copper equivalent basis in the third quarter, and a 12% increase compared to Q2 2016.

Chief executive Mark Cutifani said: "The latter increase is largely due to the strong recovery at Kumba's Sishen mine, a 46% production increase, following the successful completion of its restructuring.

"In our diamond and platinum businesses we continue to maintain discipline on volumes by mining to demand, whilst the ramp-ups at Minas-Rio and Grosvenor are progressing well, and Barro Alto has now reached nameplate capacity. The modestly higher production at De Beers is reflective of improved market conditions relative to Q3 2015, but we maintain a cautious outlook."

- Diamond production increased by 4% to 6.3 million carats compared with Q3 2015 when production was reduced in response to the prevailing trading conditions.

- Platinum production (expressed as metal in concentrate) was broadly unchanged, increasing by 1% to 619,000 ounces. Refined platinum production increased by 14% to 694,700 ounces, following recovery at the Precious Metals Refinery.

- Copper production from the retained operations decreased by 9% to 139,800 tonnes. Expected lower grades at Los Bronces and the impact of strikes at Los Bronces and El Soldado, were partly offset by strong plant performance and higher grades at Collahuasi.

- Nickel production increased by 66% to 11,300 tonnes following the successful completion of the Barro Alto furnace rebuilds in 2015. - Iron ore production from Kumba increased by 3% (33% vs. Q2 2016) to 11.8 million tonnes due to productivity improvements at Sishen following its restructuring.

- Iron ore production from Minas-Rio increased by 53% to 4.5 million tonnes (wet basis) as the operation continues to ramp-up.

- Export metallurgical coal production was broadly unchanged, increasing by 1% to 5.5 million tonnes due to the ramp-up at Grosvenor and a longwall move at Moranbah in Q3 2015, offsetting geological issues at Grasstree and the sale of Foxleigh, which completed on 30 August 2016. - Export thermal coal production remained flat at 8.8 million tonnes. An increase in production at Cerrejan was offset by a ramp-down at Drayton where mining activities will cease in Q4 2016.

Macquarie today reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and set its price target at 880p.

01/12/16 - Exane BNP Paribas today upgrades its investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) to neutral (from underperform) and set its price target at 1250p

Credit Suisse today (07/12/16) reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 1400p (from 1300p).

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American has announced the value of rough diamond sales for De Beers's tenth sales cycle of 2016, amounting to $418 million, compared with the $476 million value of the ninth sales cycle.

De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver said: "We continued to see good demand for De Beers rough diamonds in our latest sales cycle. While the trade in lower value rough diamonds is experiencing a temporary slowdown as a result of the demonetisation programme in India, demand across the rest of the product mix continued to be healthy and overall sales remained in line with seasonal expectations. Pleasingly, sales were also significantly higher than those for the equivalent cycle in 2015."

Barclays Capital today reaffirms its equal weight investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 1240p (from 975p)

Anglo American said the value of rough diamond sales for De Beers's first sales cycle of 2017 amounted to $720m compared with $545m a year ago.

De Beers Chief executive Bruce Cleaver said: "We saw good demand across the majority of our assortment during the first sales cycle of the year, as the industry entered the period when rough diamond demand is traditionally strongest.

"The longer period between the final Sight of 2016 and the first Sight of 2017 also contributed to heightened demand during the cycle.

"While the reopening of some diamond polishing operations in India saw something of an increase in demand for smaller, lower quality rough diamonds, we maintain a cautious outlook for these categories as the Indian industry continues to adjust to the post-demonetisation environment."

Haitong Securities today reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 1400p (from 1240p).

anyone other than me holding these?

Anil Agarwal, the Indian mining billionaire, plans to buy as much as 2 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) of Anglo American Plc shares in the market after a merger proposal failed last year.
The purchase will be funded via a mandatory exchangeable bond issued by his holding company, Volcan Investments Ltd., and secured by Anglo’s shares, the investor said in a statement on Wednesday. Agarwal, who founded Vedanta Resources Plc, doesn’t
intend to make a takeover offer for the company, it said. A representative for Anglo American declined to comment.
The full stake would equate to about 13 percent of Anglo’s stock, making Agarwal Anglo’s second-largest shareholder after South Africa’s Public Investment Corp. Anglo had rebuffed informal approaches from Agarwal last year when he contacted the London-based miner to discuss potential ideas including a combination with the
Indian zinc miner he controls through Vedanta, people familiar with the plans said at the time. They were quickly dismissed by Anglo, they said.
“It gives him an extremely good seat at the table if there is going to be any corporate activity,” said Jeremy Wrathall,head of mining research at Investec Plc. “We expect that M&A is going to be the next phase and maybe this is firing the starting gun.”
Anglo’s U.S. traded shares rose as much as 11 percent.

I don't hold but have been watching the sector closely for a while now. Do you not think that it has run it's course? Sp of most miners has doubled or trebled over the last 14 months. I'm not sure how much further they have got to run, though analysts seem to still quite like copper as an investment and the associated companies producing it.

I bought them yesterday on the lull and they've gone shooting back up. I was looking for £16 when I bought the first last last July. Maybe when it gets there take a view.

The dollar weakening might also affect any company which reports profitability in $. However, KAZ has done very well this morning.

Macquarie today reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and set its price target at 1250p.

roe of 1.225 is scarcely a weak $ ..... and 5-year chart tells it's own story ......

StockMarketWire.com
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Anglo American's long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating at 'BB+' and revised the outlook on the IDR to positive from negative.

The short-term IDR has been affirmed at 'B'.

Barclays Capital today reaffirms its equal weight investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and cut its price target to 1220p (from 1240p).

Citigroup today (27/03/17) reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and cut its price target to 1400p (from 1450p).

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American has sold its Eskom-tied domestic thermal coal operations in South Africa to a wholly owned subsidiary of Seriti Resources Holdings Proprietary Ltd.

Seriti is a company majority owned by historically disadvantaged South Africans and led by a management team with extensive experience of operating and developing large coal mines in South Africa.

The Eskom-tied domestic thermal coal operations consist of the New Vaal, New Denmark and Kriel collieries, as well as four closed collieries.

Anglo American said the transaction would result in Seriti becoming the second largest provider of thermal coal to Eskom, supplying almost a quarter of Eskom's current annual coal requirements. It said the consideration payable for the operations as at 1 January 2017 was ZAR2.3 billion.

It said that under the terms of the transaction, the consideration payable would be adjusted for cash flows generated by the operations between 1 January 2017 and the date on which the transaction was completed in order to determine the final payment to be made by Seriti upon completion.

Barclays Capital today reaffirms its equal weight investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and cut its price target to 1165p (from 1220p).

JP Morgan Cazenove today (02/05/17) reaffirms its overweight investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 1600p (from 1530p).

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American has completed the sale of its 83.33% interest in the Dartbrook coal mine in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia, to Australian Pacific Coal Limited.

Dartbrook consists of an underground thermal coal mine and associated processing infrastructure that has been on care and maintenance since 2006.

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American has resumed dividends after net debt was reduced to $6.2 billion, driven by $2.7 billion free cash flow.

The group generated underlying EBITDA of $4.1 billion in the six months to the end of June, a 68% increase on last time.

Underlying EBITDA margin increased by an additional five percentage points vs. FY 2016 and the group posted a rofit attributable to equity shareholders of $1.4 billion (H1 2016: $0.8 billion loss).

Other highlights:
- Delivered cost and volume improvements of $0.6 billion - on track to meet $1 billion target for full year

- Production volumes increased by 9% (Cu eq.)(2)

- Attributable free cash flow of $2.7 billion (H1 2016: $1.1 billion)

- Reduced net debt by 27% to $6.2 billion (FY 2016: $8.5 billion), ahead of $7 billion year-end target

- Resumed dividend at 48 US cents per share for the first half, equal to 40% of first half underlying earnings - Dividend policy to target pay-out of 40% of underlying earnings

Chief executive Mark Cutifani said: "The benefits of our relentless focus on driving efficiency through the operations and on upgrading the quality of our portfolio have resulted in a step-change in operational performance and profitability.

"In the first half, we have delivered a further 20% increase in productivity, a 68% increase in underlying EBITDA and $2.7 billion of attributable free cash flow - the outcome of extensive self-help work and tightly controlled capital expenditure, within a stronger price environment.

"We have nearly halved our net debt to $6.2 billion over the past year to take us well below our year-end target of $7 billion.

"Our materially improved balance sheet strength, with gearing at 19% and net debt to annualised EBITDA of 0.8x, has supported the decision to resume dividend payments six months early, establishing a pay-out policy at a targeted level of 40% of underlying earnings.

"This equates to a dividend payment of 48 US cents per share for this half year. "Looking forward, our focus will continue to be on improving operational performance and converting production and improving costs into consistent cash flow generation, while maintaining strict capital allocation discipline.

"We are now in a position to consider value accretive growth options and capital returns from within our substantial undeveloped mineral endowment."

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American said the value of rough diamond sales for De Beers' eighth sales cycle of 2017, amounted to $370m.

De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver said: 'De Beers offered fewer rough diamonds for sale in cycle 8, reflecting the concurrent timing this year of the Sight sale with the closure of polishing factories in India and Israel for the observance of religious holidays.

'Sales were in line with expectations, at what is a seasonally slower time for rough diamond demand.'

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American announced the ZAR850m sale of the New Largo thermal coal project and old New Largo closed colliery in South Africa, to New Largo coal proprietary Ltd.

The sale, by Anglo American's 73%-held subsidiary Anglo American Inyosi Coal, was expected to conclude in the second half of 2018.

Upon closing the transaction, New Largo Coal Proprietary Limited is expected to pay ZAR850mm roughly US$71 million, for the New Largo thermal coal project, subject to regulatory approvals in South Africa.

Norman Mbazima, Deputy Chairman of Anglo American South Africa, said: 'I am delighted to announce the sale of New Largo to a new majority black-owned-and-managed company.'

'Together, Seriti, Coalzar and the IDC have excellent operating and management capabilities to develop and operate New Largo optimally and sustainably into the future.'

'The sale delivers on our long-standing strategy to exit our Eskom-tied coal assets and marks another Anglo American led step-change in the sustainable transformation of the South African mining industry, supporting both Eskom and the country's transformation objectives.'

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American said the provisional value of rough diamond sales for De Beers's first sales cycle of 2018 amounted to $665m compared with $729m a year ago.

De Beers Chief executive Bruce Cleaver said: 'Following positive early signs for diamond jewellery sales over the holiday season in the US, the need for the industry to restock led to increasing demand for our rough diamonds in the first sales cycle of 2018.'

'This seasonal restocking demand does usually see a larger share of annual purchases being planned into the first sales cycle of the year by our customers, resulting in an encouraging sales performance.'

'In the equivalent sales cycle last year, sales levels benefitted from purchases that had been deferred from late in 2016 as a result of the initial impact at that time of India's demonetisation programme.'

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American reported underlying earnings increased to £8.8bn for the full-year to December 31, up 45% from US$6.1bn in 2016, as higher commodity prices helped the miner slash debt.

The strong performance allowed the group to declare a dividend of $1.02 a share, representing 30% of second half underlying earnings.

Net debt fell by 47% to $4.5bn billion for the year. Profit attributable to equity shareholders doubled to $3.2bn.

The miner is targeting additional $3bn to $4bn annual underlying EBITDA run-rate improvement by 2022.

Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: 'We have delivered a 93% increase in attributable free cash flow, almost halving net debt to $4.5 billion at the year end.'

'These strong financial results benefit from transformed productivities and efficiencies across our business - including a 28% productivity improvement in 2017 alone - together with our portfolio upgrading and improved prices for many of our products.'

'Our increased dividend for the second half equates to our targeted level of 40% of underlying earnings, totalling $1.02 per share for the year as a whole.'

Citigroup today reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and set its price target at 1850p.

HSBC today reaffirms its hold investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 1960p (from 1790p).

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American confirmed Thursday Anglo American Platinum had sold its 33% interest in the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine joint venture, for 1.863bn rands, or about US$135m.

Anglo American Platinum subsidiary Rustenburg Platinum Mines, or RPM, had accepted an offer from Royal Bafokeng Platinum, or RBPlat, to purchase its 33% interest in the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine joint venture.

The sale comes as Anglo American Platinum looks to focus its capital allocation into its own-managed mines and projects.

StockMarketWire.com
Diversified miner Anglo Asian Mining reported Thursday total production on a copper equivalent basis rose 6% in the second quarter of 2018, compared to the same period last year.

Copper production for the three months to 30 June increased by 12% to 158,000 tonnes amid strong operational performance and higher grades. Total copper production, however, was weighed down by major planned maintenance at Collahuasi.

Full year copper production guidance remained unchanged at a range of 630,000 to 660,000 tonnes.

Metallurgical coal production increased by 33% to 5.3m tonnes, driven by strong performance at Moranbah and Grosvenor.

Rough diamond production at De Beers increased by 3% to 9.0m carats as higher demand prompted a ramp up in output at Gahcho Kue. Full year production guidance remained unchanged at a range of 34m to 36m carats.

Platinum and palladium production in the quarter was roughly flat from the same period a year ago last year. Improvements in operational performances were weighed down by unprofitable output from Bokoni, which had been placed on care and maintenance in the third quarter of 2017.

The company raised its full year platinum production guidance to a range of 2.4m 2.45m ounces from a range of 2.3m to 2.4m, and kept full-year palladium production guidance unchanged at range of 1.5m to 1.6m ounces.

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American reported Thursday it would move ahead with the development of its Quellaveco copper project in Peru after first-half earnings jumped 11%.

For the six months to June 30, underlying earnings (EBITA) rose 11% to $4.58bn from $4.12bn the same period last year, net income fell 9% to $1.29bn.

The average price for Anglo's commodities gained 8% from a year ago, contributing $0.8bn of improvement to underlying earnings (EBITDA), the company said.

The company also said it was at the half way point of meeting its cost and volumes improvements targets for the full year.

'A 6% increase in copper equivalent production volumes helped deliver $0.4 billion of cost and volume improvements in the first half, out of the $0.8 billion targeted for the full year,' the company said.

Net debt fell 11% to $4bn.

The Quellaveco copper project has an expected capital cost of $5.0 to $5.3bn and would be funded on an attributable basis: 60% by Anglo American and 40% by Mitsubishi.

Mitsubishi would fund pre-funding the first $500m of Anglo American's share of the capital expenditure, Anglo American said.

'We expect Quellaveco to generate a real, post tax IRR of greater than 15%, with a four-year payback and an EBITDA margin of more than 50% due to its highly competitive first quartile cash cost position,' Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American.

HARRYCAT and cynic - are you still both holders?
Bought a few at August-2018 £15.5 dip ( Turkey effect, but not sure why).... I like the Ns of DeBeers artificial stones and Peru looking a good JV opportunity that others may have missed. What I don't like is the debt-level ( but shrinking), and that dive to £4 in 2016. which looks like something was suddenly wrong..... but now fixed presumably.
Any thoughts....comments? Today, sp=1572. . . . . Cheers.
EDIT ( 28Aug2018)- AAL sp 1640; several "miners" are up.

I am not a holder. I watch most of the miners, but don't currently hold any. It's a sector which needs quite a lot of constant research and I haven't done enough to warrant investing.
At the end of 2015 AAL net debt was 3 times their market cap, so they had to restructure, hence the very low sp.

JP Morgan Cazenove today reaffirms its overweight investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 2290p (from 2170p).

UBS today (27.09.18) reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) and raised its price target to 1800p (from 1650p).

StockMarketWire.com
Anglo American said Thursday it expected copper and diamond production to decline in 2019 after reporting annual output on a copper equivalent basis rose 7% following double-digit percentage growth in copper and rough diamonds output in the final quarter of the year.

In the final three months through December, Copper output rose 23% to 183,500 metric tons and rough diamond production from De Beers climbed 12% to 9.1m carats.

Platinum and palladium production both increased by 3% to 602,300 ounces and 386,600 ounces respectively, driven by an improved operational performance across the majority of the portfolio, the miner said.

The company forecasts diamond, copper, platinum production in 2019 will be below that of last year.

Diamond production was expected in the range of 31m to 33m carats for 2019, below the 35.2m carats reported last year.

Copper production in the upcoming year was expected in a range of 630,000 to 660,000 tons, below 668,300 tons seen this year. While 2019 platinum production guidance was revised to 2.0m to 2.1m ounces from 2.0m to 2.2m ounces previously.

'Solid operational performance resulted in a 23% increase in production from our Copper business, more than offsetting the impact of infrastructure constraints at Kumba,' said Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American.

'We ended this successful quarter with the restart of operations at Minas-Rio and receipt of a key approval relating to the important Step 3 licence area that supports its increase in production towards design capacity.'