UK-South African producer Anglo American mined 15.9mn t of iron ore in the April-June quarter from two mines in South Africa and Brazil, up 2.3pc on the year.
The company's iron ore production increased across both mines, but output from its Brazilian Minas-Rio mine rose at a faster pace (see table), the company said in a quarterly report on 24 July. It has kept its 2025 iron ore production guidance unchanged at 57mn-61mn t.
Iron ore production at Minas-Rio rose 4.4pc on the year in April-June to 6.7mn t. Anglo American expects to produce 22mn-24mn t of ore at the mine in 2025. Production at Minas-Rio may slow in July-September because of a routine, five-yearly pipeline inspection.
Anglo American expanded its Minas-Rio mine in December 2024, by absorbing iron producer Vale's Serpentina iron ore mine. The company expects to double the mine's output because of the deal.
But iron ore exports from Minas-Rio fell on the year in April-June with sales declining 2.5pc on the year from 6.8mn to 6.6mn t.
Anglo American produced 9.3mt of iron ore at its Kumba mine in South Africa, up 0.8pc on the year. The company expects to produce 35mn-37mn t of iron ore at the mine in 2025, but this is subject to rail and port performance, the company said on 24 July.
Anglo American's iron ore sales from Kumba also rose 0.7pc on the year, from 9.7mn to 9.8mn t. All the new sales from the mine came from lumps, rather than fines. Lump sales from Kumba rose 8.1pc on the year to 6.5mn t in April-June, while fines sales fell by 11.2pc to 3.3mn t. Lumps are generally more expensive than equivalently graded fines as they need to be processed less by steelmakers.
| Anglo American Quarterly (iron ore) | mn t | ||||
| Apr-Jun '25 | Apr-Jun '24 | y-o-y Change (%) | Jan-Mar '25 | q-o-q Change (%) | |
| Production | |||||
| Kumba | 9.3 | 9.2 | 0.8 | 9.0 | 3.0 |
| Minas-Rio | 6.7 | 6.4 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| Total | 15.9 | 15.6 | 2.3 | 15.4 | 3.2 |
| Sales | |||||
| Kumba (lumps) | 6.5 | 6.0 | 8.1 | 6.0 | 7.1 |
| Kumba (fines) | 3.3 | 3.7 | -11.2 | 2.9 | 14.0 |
| Kumba (total) | 9.8 | 9.7 | 0.7 | 8.9 | 9.3 |
| Minas-Rio | 6.6 | 6.8 | -2.5 | 5.6 | 18.0 |
| Source: Anglo Amercian | |||||

