South32’s Mozal Aluminium smelter in Mozambique pushed production up 12% to 265,000t in the nine months to end-March and has maintained production guidance unchanged at 350,000t for the year to end-June.
According to South32 CEO Graham Kerr this follows delivery of the smelter’s recovery plan and its success in “mitigating the impacts of civil unrest in Mozambique from the December 2024 quarter.”
Kerr indicated that a key issue for Mozal was its future power supply and commented, “we continue to work with Eskom and the Government of Mozambique to extend the smelter’s hydro-electric power supply beyond March 2026 as there are currently no viable alternative suppliers of renewable energy at the required scale.
“We remain focussed on finalising a new energy supply agreement during calendar 2025 to enable the smelter to continue to operate and maintain its substantial contribution to the economy of Mozambique.”
Mozal gets its power from the Cahora Bassa hydro-electric scheme on the Zambezi River in Mozambique which also supplies power to Eskom.
Turning to the group’s South African manganese operations Kerr said the production guidance for the year to end-June remained unchanged at two million tons, but he noted sales had dropped 18% in the March quarter because “port congestion impacted the timing of shipments.”
Overall, South32 increased copper production by 18% and aluminium production by 6% in the nine months to end-March and had net cash of $252m on hand at the end of March.
Kerr commented, “looking ahead, our focus on operating discipline, active cost management and a strong balance sheet leaves us well positioned to manage a period of potential uncertainty in global markets.”
