Diversified miner South32 received a $100m windfall from US gold miner Newmont from the group’s Australian mines in the third quarter.
The cash injection stemmed from an agreement between South32’s Worsley Alumina and Newmont’s Boddington gold mine aimed at enabling the two mines to “safely operate in close proximity and compensate Worsley Alumina for impacts on its priority access to small areas containing resource”, South32 said in a trading statement on Thursday.
While the significant item will be excluded from underlying earnings, it helped South32 increase its net cash position by nearly $300m to $252m in the third quarter.
The miner reported a strong operational performance for the nine months to end-March, with copper production up 18% year on year and aluminium output up 6%.
Mozal Aluminium, the group’s Mozambican smelter, crawled back from disruptions caused by civil unrest in the country, which saw it temporarily halt production late last year. Its output rose by 12% in the first three quarters.
“Operating conditions in Mozambique improved during the March 2025 quarter, enabling the smelter to approach nameplate production rates to finish the period,” said the company.
“We continue to work with Eskom and the government of the Republic of Mozambique to extend the smelter’s hydroelectric power supply beyond March 2026, as there are currently no viable alternative suppliers of renewable energy at the required scale.
“We remain focused on finalising a new energy supply agreement during [the 2025 calendar year] to enable the smelter to continue to operate and maintain its substantial contribution to the economy of Mozambique.”
In SA, South32’s Hillside Aluminium smelter reported a 1% fall in saleable production, owing partly to a less stable electricity supply caused by load-shedding.
Worsley Alumina also reported a 2% decline in saleable production, while lower product availability saw sales dip by 6% in the third quarter.
The group’s Brazilian smelter recorded a 32% increase in saleable production for the first nine months, but sales fell by 14% in the third quarter as export shipments slipped on weather-related port delays.
Against a strong cash position, South32 reported a $294m capital expenditure bill, including $26m investment into copper exploration at its US copper, zinc and lead mines.
“We continue to unlock value at our operations, commencing our Worsley Mine Development Project following environmental approval by the Australian government, and progressing towards the resumption of export sales from Australia Manganese, which remains on track for the June 2025 quarter,” said CEO Graham Kerr.
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