Mining giant Anglo American Plc (AAL.L,AAUKY.PK) Tuesday said it would record a hefty $4 billion impairment charge in 2012 related to the revised capital expenditure requirements of the Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil and its assessment of the full potential of phase one. The company’s cost and schedule review of the project, which was announced in November 2012, included third party input and examined the outstanding capital expenditure requirements in light of current development progress and the disruptive challenges faced by the project.
Following the completion of the review, the company now expects capital expenditure for the project to increase to $8.8 billion, if a centrally held risk contingency of $600 million is utilized in full.
The company, in November, had noted there were indications that capital expenditure for the project would unlikely to be less than the $8 billion upper end of analysts’ range of expectations.
According to Anglo American, the primary drivers of increase in the capital expenditure target relates to the delay in first ore on ship or FOOS from late 2013 to late 2014, scope changes, construction inflation costs, as well as the centrally held risk contingency of $600 million to accommodate a number of potential factors to achieve the FOOS date of the end of 2014.
Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll said, “We are clearly disappointed that the diversity of challenges that our Minas-Rio project has faced has contributed to a significant increase in capital expenditure, leading to the impairment we have recorded. Despite the difficulties, we continue to be confident of the medium and long term attractiveness and strategic positioning of Minas-Rio and we remain committed to the project.”
In December, the company had revealed that all three injunctions that had disrupted the project in 2012, contributing to the delay of FOOS to the end of 2014, had been lifted. Construction progress is on track with the revised construction schedule announced in July 2012.
Carroll added, “The published resource has increased more than fourfold, since acquisition, to 5.77 billion tonnes, and we believe that further resource potential exists through our ongoing exploration. The first phase of the project will begin its ramp up at the end of 2014, with operating costs expected to be highly competitive in the first quartile of the FOB cash cost curve…”
Anglo American has been facing troubles recently, with its announcement last Friday about a 19 percent drop in iron ore output at Kumba in South Africa for the fourth quarter, citing the illegal strike at Sishen mine.
Earlier on January 15, Anglo American’s 79.8 percent owned subsidiary Anglo American Platinum Limited announced some restructuring measures, including reconfiguring of its Rustenburg operations, which are expected to lead to job losses of up to 14,000.
In London, Anglo American shares are currently trading at 1,883 pence, up 10.50 pence or 0.56 percent.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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