LONDON (Reuters) - Anglo American expects output at its Kumba Iron Ore mine in South Africa to fall by up to 3 million tonnes in 2020 because of a 21-day lockdown and coal export production to be up to 2 million tonnes lower, it said on Friday.
The London-listed miner also lowered output of platinum and diamonds in South Africa, extended a slowdown in construction at its Quellaveco copper project in Peru and paused work in its Woodsmith polyhalite project in Britain.
Governments are stepping up measures to contain the coronavirus including restricting movement and shutting down non-essential businesses such as mining.
Anglo American said its workforce across different minerals in South Africa would be cut by 50% to 75% during the country’s 21-day lockdown, adding that major operations in other countries had so far not been materially impacted.
The company had previously expected output this year of 41.5 million to 42.5 million tonnes at Kumba and to mine about 26 million tonnes of coal for export in South Africa and Colombia.