On January 28, the miner Anglo American released a quarterly output report showing that in the fourth quarter of 2020, the company’s coal output was 8.6 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 34.4%. Among them, the output of thermal coal is 4.4 million tons and the output of metallurgical coal is 4.2 million tons.
The quarterly report shows that in the fourth quarter of last year, the company exported 4.432 million tons of thermal coal, of which South Africa exported 4.085 million tons of thermal coal, a year-on-year decrease of 10% and a month-on-month decrease of 11%; Colombia exported 347,000 tons of thermal coal. A year-on-year drop of 85% and a month-on-month drop of 67%.
The company said that due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, in order to ensure the safety of workers, the company’s South African coal mine continues to operate at 90% of its production capacity. In addition, Colombia’s export of thermal coal production fell sharply, mainly due to the strike at Cerrejon Coal Mine (Cerrejon).
The quarterly report shows that for the full year of 2020, Anglo American’s thermal coal output was 20.59 million tons, of which South Africa’s thermal coal output was 16.463 million tons, down 7% year-on-year; Colombia’s thermal coal output was 4.13 million tons, down 52% year-on-year .
Last year, Anglo American’s thermal coal sales were 42.832 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 10%. Among them, the sales of thermal coal in South Africa was 16.573 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 9%; the sales of thermal coal in Colombia was 4.534 million tons, a drop of 48% year-on-year; the sales of domestic thermal coal in South Africa was 12.369 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 14%.
In 2020, the average selling price of thermal coal exported by Anglo American is USD 55/ton, of which the selling price of thermal coal in South Africa is USD 57/ton, and the selling price of Colombian coal is USD 46/ton.
Anglo American Resources stated that in 2021, the company’s thermal coal production target remains unchanged at 24 million tons. Among them, the output of thermal coal exported from South Africa is estimated to be 16 million tons, and the output of Colombian coal is estimated to be 8 million tons.