Anglo American has an approved project pipeline increased to $15 billion to deliver substantial volume growth in the most attractive commodity segments:
- Significant new iron ore and coal production on stream in 2008
- Collahuasi debottlenecking on schedule to enter production in Q4 2008
- Barro Alto nickel project 40% complete and on track for Q1 2010
- Minas-Rio – phase 1 of iron ore project under construction to start up during 2010
- Los Bronces copper expansion project on schedule for production in 2011
- Twickenham platinum expansion project approved to produce 180,000 oz per annum
- Michiquillay copper project – community agreements reached and exploration under way.
Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive, said: “I am pleased to announce another record performance by Anglo American, reporting operating profit of $6.2 billion for the half year and underlying earnings of $3.5 billion. The key drivers of this performance were production growth in copper, iron ore, manganese ore, coal and phosphates, continued strength in the commodity price environment and the early benefits of tighter operational discipline across the businesses.
Our $45 billion project pipeline, which now includes some $15 billion of approved projects, is set to deliver substantial volume growth in the most attractive commodity segments across the near, medium and long term. Our near term projects are on track to deliver significant new coal and iron ore production this year, with the Dawson and Lake Lindsay coking coal projects in Australia and the Sishen iron ore expansion project all now ramping up to full production. We have also approved a number of new projects in South Africa, including the Twickenham platinum expansion project, the Amandelbult No.4 shaft platinum replacement project and, most recently, the Sishen South iron ore project.