Anglo American produced 13.80 million tonnes of iron ore in the third quarter of 2026, down 3.8% from a year earlier. Lower output at its South African Kumba operations outweighed growth at the Minas-Rio project in Brazil. Iron ore sales, however, rose 9.3% to 15.75 million tonnes.
Production at Kumba fell 18.9% to 7.50 million tonnes. Output at Sishen declined 22% to 4.95 million tonnes after a planned shutdown of its dense-media-separation plant to allow the main connection of the new UHDMS plant. At Kolomela, production was down 12% to 2.55 million tonnes because of low plant feedstock.
Kumba’s sales rose 3.3% to 9.70 million tonnes, supported by a planned drawdown of finished stocks. These fell to 5.1 million tonnes at the end of the quarter, from 7 million tonnes in Q2.
Minas-Rio output increased 23.6% to 6.30 million tonnes. Higher plant availability supported the rise; in the same period a year earlier, the project had been shut for a planned pipeline inspection. Anglo American said higher freight rates and sales redirected away from the conflict area in the Middle East continued to weigh on realized prices.
Metallurgical coal production increased 52.6% to 2.88 million tonnes, mainly as longwall production ramped up at Moranbah North following an incident in March 2025.
Anglo American kept its 2026 iron ore production guidance unchanged at 55–59 million tonnes, including 31–33 million tonnes from Kumba and 24–26 million tonnes from Minas-Rio. The sale of its remaining Australian steelmaking coal assets to Dhilmar Limited for up to $3.875 billion is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to relevant approvals.
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