South32 shares surge on manganese recovery

SHARES in South32 climbed nearly three per cent on Monday after reporting stronger-than-expected manganese production in the fourth quarter, driven by resumed exports from storm-hit Australian operations, said Reuters.The ASX-listed company’s Groote Eylandt Mining Co project in the Northern Territory had struggled with severe weather disruptions in early 2025, compounding difficulties from Tropical Cyclone Megan’s infrastructure damage a year prior.“Australia Manganese successfully resumed export shipments during the quarter, marking a significant recovery from the impacts caused by Tropical Cyclone Megan,” South32 said in a fourth quarter production update.The Perth-based diversified miner produced 1.1 million metric tons of manganese ore in the June quarter, more than doubling the previous year’s 534,000 tons and beating analyst expectations of 850,000 tons from Visible Alpha consensus estimates.However, the company warned its Australian manganese operations would post operating losses of $100-120m in fiscal 2025 following the restart challenges.South32 shares rose as much as 2.8% to A$2.97, outperforming the broader mining index which fell 0.3%, said the newswire.The world’s largest manganese producer faces additional headwinds, flagging potential impairments to its Mozambican aluminium smelter due to power cost concerns and reviewing its Queensland silver-lead-zinc mine due to operational complexities.Jefferies analysts noted whilst the quarter showed operational strength, marginal assets could face “negative valuation revisions” at August’s full-year results.Commenting on Mozal earlier this month, South32 said that production guidance from Mozal for the 2026 financial year was under review.The group has been negotiating with Mozambique’s hydroelectric power operator Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) for a renewal of a power supply agreement which is due to expire in March next year.Mozal gets its power from the Cahora Bassa hydro-electric scheme on the Zambezi River in Mozambique which also supplies power to Eskom, the South African power utility. In terms of Mozal’s power agreement, Eskom provides emergency power in the event of interruptions from HCB.South32 had targeted 2026 as the year in which it returned Mozal to its nameplate 370,000 tons a year production after it only produced 314,000 tons in 2023/24. Prior to violent protests in Mozambique, following disrupted elections in October, South32 had forecast production of 360,000 tons for the 2025 financial year.About 20 kilometres west of Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, Mozal is the biggest industrial employer in the Southern African country.The post South32 shares surge on manganese recovery appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.comWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com