First Ore On Ship from Minas-Rio

RNS Number : 3073V

Anglo American PLC

27 October 2014

 



27 October 2014
Anglo American delivers first ore on ship from Minas-Rio

Anglo American plc ("Anglo American") announces the delivery of first ore on ship ("FOOS") from its Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil, within the targeted budget. The first cargo of more than 80,000 tonnes of iron ore for the pellet feed market has been loaded onto a chartered vessel at the dedicated export terminal at the port of Açu in Rio de Janeiro state and the vessel is currently en route to customers in China.

Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: "Delivering FOOS from Minas-Rio is a remarkable achievement from our team and is one of our three major commitments to our shareholders this year. Minas-Rio has an exceptional resource in terms of scale and ore quality, producing some of the highest quality pellet feed available for our customers across the Middle East and Asia, providing us with a clear competitive advantage. We believe that the outlook for our particular premium product remains attractive, despite the current weakness in the iron ore price, and that the fully integrated operation of Minas-Rio - from mine to port - will enable us to sustain our low operating cost position over the long term."

Paulo Castellari, CEO of Anglo American's Iron Ore Brazil business, added: "I am delighted that we have shipped our first ore from Minas-Rio and that is testament to the incredible effort and dedication of the entire team, including our contractors, JV partners and suppliers, and the support of the regulatory authorities and government in Brazil over many years. We are now focused on achieving a safe ramp-up to the 26.5 Mtpa capacity over the next 18-20 months and on the regular cycle of licence and permit renewal required for a mining operation of our scale in Brazil as we transition into operational mode."

For further information, please contact:

Media		Investors
UK James Wyatt-Tilby Tel: [phone]		UK Paul Galloway Tel: [phone]
Emily Blyth Tel: [phone]		Edward Kite Tel: [phone]
South Africa Pranill Ramchander Tel: [phone] Shamiela Letsoalo Tel: [phone]		Sarah McNally Tel: [phone]

Notes to editors:

Minas-Rio is a fully integrated iron ore operation in Brazil, consisting of an open cut mine and beneficiation plant in the state of Minas Gerais, a 529km pipeline through which the iron ore is pumped in slurry form from the mine to the coast at the port of Açu in Rio de Janeiro state where Anglo American has developed a dedicated iron ore export facility. At the peak of construction activity, the project's workforce numbered in excess of 20,000, while the operation in steady state will employ 4,000 people, 70% of whom are from communities local to the operation. Minas-Rio is designed to produce 26.5 Mtpa (wet basis) of iron ore pellet feed for the steel industry, with a particularly high iron ore content of c.68% and with low levels of contaminants. Minas-Rio currently has an estimated 686 million (wet) tonnes of Saleable Product (at 67.5% Fe), resulting in a Mine Life of 28 years.

Anglo American is one of the world's largest mining companies, is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Our portfolio of mining businesses meets our customers' changing needs and spans bulk commodities - iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal; base metals and minerals - copper, nickel, niobium and phosphates; and precious metals and minerals - in which we are a global leader in both platinum and diamonds.  At Anglo American, we are committed to working together with our stakeholders - our investors, our partners and our employees - to create sustainable value that makes a real difference, while upholding the highest standards of safety and responsibility across all our businesses and geographies. The company's mining operations, pipeline of growth projects and exploration activities span southern Africa, South America, Australia, North America, Asia and Europe.

www.angloamerican.com

 

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