Converting its output of diamonds, copper, platinum group metals, iron ore, manganese, coal and nickel to a copper equivalent as a single measurable metric, Anglo said group production for 2017 had increased by 5%.
"The 5% increase for the full year reflects our ongoing focus on productivity, and was achieved despite the removal of unprofitable and higher-cost platinum and metallurgical coal volumes, consistent with our disciplined, value-led approach to production," CEO Mark Cutifani said.
Notable performances during the year came from the Grosvenor coal mine in Australia, an 8% increase in output from SA’s Kumba Iron Ore and the ramp up of the new Gahcho Kué diamond mine in the frozen north of Canada.
De Beers, which is 85% owned by Anglo American, increased full-year production by 22% to 33.5-million carats, with the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by value ramping up output to match market conditions.
Total sales were 35-million carats, up from 32-million carats.
Average diamond prices, however, fell by 13% to $162 a carat, with strong demand from Indian diamond buyers in the first quarter for lower-value goods that De Beers held over from 2016.
De Beers noted that production from Gahcho Kué mine and the Orapa mine in Botswana had ramped up production during the year, but these operations delivered lower-value diamonds but were high-margin businesses.
Kumba, which is listed on the JSE but is majority owned by Anglo, had a stellar year, increasing iron ore production by 8% to 45-million tonnes.
Export sales increased by 7% to nearly 42-million tonnes while domestic sales, primarily to ArcelorMittal SA, were flat at 3.3-million tonnes.
The Minas Rio iron ore mine in Brazil, which has cost Anglo about $13bn to buy and build, is in ramp-up mode and increased annual production by 4% to 16.8-million tonnes.
However, fourth-quarter production was down 19% as mining centred on low-grade areas as the mine waits for permits to allow it to move into higher-grade parts of the property to allow it to achieve steady-state production of 26.5-million tonnes.
Manganese ore output reflected the higher prices during the year, with production up 11% for the year to 3.5-million tonnes. Anglo is a shareholder in Samancor, which is majority owned by South32.
Anglo’s copper output was flat at 579,300 tonnes for the year. The Los Bronces mine in Chile and the shared Collahuasi mine had flat and slightly higher production for the year respectively, while the much smaller El Soldado mine had a difficult year, with production down 14%.