South32's share of Mn ore output down 38% YoY in H1 FY25

South32 Ltd, the world's largest manganese miner headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, released that its share of manganese ore output from its joint ventures in Australia and South Africa posted an on-year fall of 38% to reach 1.72 million wet metric tonnes (wmt) over July-December 2024, the first half of its financial year 2025 (FY25), according to the company's latest quarterly report.

South32 holds 60% of the Australia Manganese joint venture, while its share in the South Africa Manganese joint venture is 54.6%, the report said.

The continued on-year decline was mainly because the operations at its Australia Manganese joint venture had been dampened after the damage at Groote Eylandt caused by Tropical Cyclone Megan in mid-March 2024.

However, the on-year decrease had narrowed significantly over July-December, as against the plunge of 61% during the July-September quarter, as its share of manganese ore output at the two joint ventures witnessed a substantial growth of 88% on quarter to 1.12 million wmt over the October-December quarter, mainly attributed to the recovery in production at its Australia Manganese joint venture.

The Australian joint venture resumed production from the primary concentrator as planned in the last quarter of 2024, with the production of manganese ore at this joint venture reaching 639,000 wmt, lower than the 789,000 wmt during the same period last year.

South32 said that its FY25 production guidance at the joint venture in Australia remains unchanged at 1 million wmt, as production over January-June will be limited due to the continued operational recovery plan. Its export sales are expected to progressively increase over April-June given the further potential impacts from the wet season, according to the report.

In parallel, South32's share of manganese ore production at South Africa Manganese slipped by 29,000 wmt or 3% on year to 1.08 million wmt over July-December 2024, mainly due to its reduced use of higher cost trucking and the temporary shut at its Wessels mine during the Oct-December quarter in response to the market conditions.

For the current fiscal year ending June 30, production guidance at the South Africa joint venture stays unchanged at 2 million wmt. The company will continue to monitor and respond to market conditions, South32 added in the report.

Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com