Anglo American has revised its 2024 metallurgical coal production guidance downward, following the exclusion of Australia’s Grosvenor operations from its July-December target. The adjustment lowers the output forecast from 15-17 million tonnes (Mt) to 14-15.5Mt, as reported on 18 July. This revision comes after an underground fire at Grosvenor on 29 June forced a halt in operations.
As a result of reduced production, Anglo American anticipates an increase in unit costs for 2024, rising from approximately $115 per tonne (t) to $130-140/t. For January-June this year, costs are estimated at about $125/t.
Despite these setbacks, Anglo American reported a 26% year-on-year increase in April-June production, reaching 4.24Mt. This marks a 12% rise compared with January-March. The production boost was largely due to higher output at Grosvenor and Dawson, despite challenging conditions at Aquila and increased waste volumes at Capcoal operations, all located in Australia.
Coking coal sales for April-June saw a 15% increase from the previous year, rising from 3.59Mt to 4.11Mt. This was driven by a 20% rise in hard coking coal sales, even as pulverised coal injection (PCI) and semi-soft sales experienced a marginal 1.2% decline.
For January-June, the firm’s realised prices were $274/t for hard coking coal and $200/t for PCI, compared to last year’s averages of $280/t and $236/t, respectively. The latest assessments by Argus on 17 July put the premium hard low-volatile metallurgical coal price at $231/t fob Australia, down from $326.70/t on 2 January. The low-volatile PCI price was assessed at $202.75/t fob Australia on 18 July, up from $183.35/t at the start of the year.
Looking ahead, Anglo American has scheduled a walk-on/walk-off longwall move at Aquila for July-September, expected to have minimal production impact. Meanwhile, a longwall move at Moranbah has been postponed from July-September to October-December.
