Australian diversified miner South32 reported higher fourth-quarter manganese ore production on Monday, beating analysts’ estimates, as it resumed export shipments from its Australia manganese operations following storm delays.
The company’s Groote Eylandt Mining Co (GEMCO) project in Australia’s Northern Territory faced severe storms in early 2025, making it difficult to get production back on track after a tropical cyclone damaged the site’s vital infrastructure a year ago.
“Australia Manganese successfully resumed export shipments during the quarter, marking a significant recovery from the impacts caused by Tropical Cyclone Megan,” the company said in a statement.
The Perth-based miner said it expects its Australia manganese operation to post a loss of $100 million to $120 million in operating earnings in fiscal 2025, following a restart after disruptions from Tropical Cyclone Megan.
The world’s largest producer of manganese, which is used to improve the quality and strength of steel, clocked an output of 1.1 million wet metric tons (wmt) manganese for the quarter ended June 30, up from 534,000 wmt a year earlier.
The result beat a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 850,000 wmt, as per Barrenjoey.
The company added it invested $517 million of growth capital expenditure at its Arizona-based Hermosa project in fiscal 2025.
The diversified miner also posted fourth-quarter copper production of 21,900 tons from the Sierra Gorda mine, in which it holds a 45% stake.
South32 in mid-July had flagged an impairment to its Mozal aluminum smelter in Mozambique and said its production was under review because it has not been able to secure affordable power prices after March 2026.
(By Roshan Thomas and Adwitiya Srivastava; Editing by Leslie Adler and Lincoln Feast)
