Platinum strike causes sharp drop in production output

Anglo American yesterday reported a sharp drop in the quarterly output platinum that overshadowed higher copper and iron ore production.

This was announced in the group’s second quarter production results ended June 30, 2014 which showed a 40% drop in platinum output for the second quarter, the result of lost production due to strikes at its key mines in South Africa.

The decline, which is expected to damage first-half earnings, masked a slight increase in production of iron ore, the biggest money earner for Anglo last year.
Iron ore production rose 2% to 11.5 million tonnes for the three months ended June 30. Copper output, which contributed about a quarter of the company's earnings last year, rose 6% to 194 400 tonnes. Nickel and diamond production increased while export thermal coal production dropped by 5%. Export metallurgical coal production increased by 10%.