off-the-wire

UPDATE 1-Australia's South32 cuts met coal output forecast after disruptions

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(Adds details on results, forecast, CEO comments) April 24 (Reuters) - Australian diversified miner South32 Ltd on Monday cut the output guidance for several operations hit by wet weather and other issues in the third quarter, but said it expected to benefit from higher volumes and prices in the June quarter. It cut output guidance at Mozal Aluminium by 8% to 340,000
tonnes and Cannington payable zinc equivalent production by 6% to 195,900 tonnes.


Wet weather and temporary disruptions at the Appin metallurgical coal mine led to a 21% drop in metallurgical coal production in the March quarter from a year earlier and a 7% cut in output guidance for the year. South32 said it now expects to produce 6.5 million tonnes of Illawarra metallurgical coal for the year to June 2023, down from a forecast of 7.0 million tonnes. However, the company said it remains on-track to meet its full year production guidance at most of its operations.


"We remain well positioned to capitalise on improved market conditions, with higher production volumes expected to finish the 2023 financial year," CEO Graham Kerr said in a statement. The company raised its operating unit cost guidance for metallurgical coal to $127 per tonne from $119 for the year, due to the production disruptions.


(Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo and Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sonali Paul)

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