Anglo American lifts guidance for platinum and nickel

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Anglo American rose strongly on Thursday after the diversified mining giant raised platinum and nickel production guidance following a steady third quarter. Full-year refined platinum group metals production is expected to now be 3.7m-3.9m ounces, up from earlier guidance of 3.3m-3.7m, while nickel targets have been raised to 38,000-39,000 tonnes, from 36,000-38,000 previously. All other annual targets for copper, iron ore, diamonds and steelmaking coal remain unchanged.

"Our consistent focus on operational excellence continues to deliver stable production in line with our expectations," said chief executive Duncan Wanblad.

Copper production was down 13% year-on-year in the three months to 30 September as expected due to the planned closure of the smaller Los Bronces plant, partially offset by higher grades at El Soldado.

Steelmaking coal production fell 6%, PGM output was down 10%, while rough diamond production dropped 25% as expected as the company continues to reduce production amid ongoing market weakness.

Improvements were seen in iron ore output which rose 2%, helped by a record third-quarter performance from the Minas-Rio project, while nickel production rose 6%.

Meanwhile , the company said its previously announced "portfolio simplification" is well under way, with the demerger of the PGMs business on track to complete mid-2025, while the sale of steelmaking coal activities should be agreed "in the coming months".

"We are making excellent progress with our portfolio simplification to create an exciting and differentiated investment proposition focused on our world-class copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients assets - all future-enabling products," Wanblad said.

The stock was up 3.7% at 2,408.5p by 0856 BST.