Source: South32
Anglo American is back in business. The Australian manganese operations of the miner moved into overdrive, with second-quarter output increasing 109% to 745,600 tonnes as export channels opened up and processing lines stabilized following the lengthy clean-up after Tropical Cyclone Megan. The company credits this as evidence its more streamlined, less complex portfolio can still deliver serious volume when conditions are favorable.
Here is the sub: manganese is shouldering the load right now. Anglo’s heart is being re-set in copper, iron ore and manganese, and Q2 makes sense of it: the manganese rebound is well-timed, real and cash-generative, as good a time as any for the group to be disposing of non-core assets.
The key facts, in summary
Manganese output: higher by 109% quarter-on-quarter to 745,600 tonnes with the reopening of Australian mining and shipping after cyclone disruption cut exports for more than a year. Export sales phased back progressively from mid-May.
- Copper: 173,300 tonnes in the quarter, up 3% on Q1 as Collahuasi and Quellaveco sorted themselves out, though first-half volumes are still down on last year.
- Iron ore: Output rose to 15.9 million tonnes, driven largely by Minas-Rio. Full-year targets remain firmly on track.
- Strategy: After the Valterra Platinum spin-off, Anglo is pressing ahead with plans to sell its nickel, coal, and De Beers units.
Why the manganese boom matters now
Source: iStock
Manganese is no longer a sleeping giant bulk commodity. It is an unknown to steel making and increasingly inextricably linked to EV battery chemistry involving high-purity manganese sulphate. In circumstances of constrained supply, especially with energy transition metals, a surprise boom of manganese production in Australia offers Anglo American headroom and flexibility when it comes to price. It also reassures the market that Anglo’s Australian mines are healthy enough to recover from climate-related events quickly.
The cyclone that opened the doors
March 2024 saw Cyclone Megan work its way through the Northern Territory, setting total rainfall records, devastating infrastructure, and shutting Groote Eylandt, where Anglo has a joint venture and South32 has an open supply chain of manganese, for a long period of time. The repair bill reached hundreds of millions with a very big payment from the insurance, and hundreds of thousands of crew hours rebuilt wharf infrastructure, haul roads and concentrator circuits. Exports resumed gradually from mid-May 2025, following the restoration of key infrastructure and regulatory clearances.
Context is required here as it reveals this quarter’s leap isn’t a one-off deviation—it’s the release valve once 14 months’ worth of built-up ore and logistically bottlenecked coupling have found their way into the system. Anglo built up inventory, kept crews on hand, and waited for the approvals and infrastructure to come through. And when they did, tonnes flowed.
A bigger Northern Territory tale
Source: Bloomberg/Alejandra Parra/Bloomberg
The bounce doesn’t occur on spreadsheets only. The workhorse of Northern Territory royalties is manganese; getting Groote Eylandt and associated operations back in the box supports state revenue growth expectations and local employment stability. The bounce also places timelines on promises downstream—such as reported alloy smelter aspirations—on ice as the region re-calibrates to hard ore export first.
Anglo’s Next Chapter: Built on Copper and Ore
Iron Ore Production by Operation
| Operation | Q2 2025 Production | Change from Q1 | Contributing Factors |
| Minas-Rio (Brazil) | 6.7 million tonnes | +3% | Higher plant efficiency |
| Kumba Iron Ore | 9.3 million tonnes | +3.3% (from 9.0m tonnes) | Higher output at Kolomela offsetting lower volumes at Sishen due to maintenance |
While manganese gets the headlines, quarter-on-quarter copper production expansion and steady iron ore production provide the rationale for portfolio streamlining at Anglo. Copper, iron ore and manganese constitute the backbone of business in the future, as it continues to shed diamonds, nickel and steelmaking coal. Valterra Platinum demerger is already in the rearview mirror, releasing value and management bandwidth. The end station: a more margin-driven, cash-generating, lower-volatility portfolio.
Investors will turn to check if copper can re-accelerate in the second half as water conservation programs, Collahuasi, and Quellaveco drive throughput, and if iron ore can hold gains as Minas-Rio and Kumba balance blends with changing Chinese steel demand.
The industry echo: South32’s bounce-back
Anglo is not singular. South32, which operates the Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO), also had a better-than-anticipated comeback of manganese as exports returned, lifting its stocks. That collective bounce reflects the speed at which Australia’s manganese supply is returning to its norm following cyclone disruption, and it signals that pricing stress is loosening off in some of the manganese markets as tonnes begin to flow again.
Present tense, forward lens
Anglo American’s manganese stream is in high gear, the Northern Territory is exporting again, and the market is adjusting to real-time tonnages as opposed to fix schedules. Execution comes into focus: maintaining the logistics corridor open across the NT dry season, concentrator availability, and achieving steady-state production as the wider business divests non-core assets without burning value.
Also Read: /binance-arbitration-request-crypto-lawsuit
What to watch next
- Three-quarter-million-tonne run-rate: is manganese production at three-quarter-million-tonne levels being maintained, or did Q2 benefit from running down stockpiles?
- H2 copper lift: will production rise again enough to fix first-half softness and meet full-year goals?
- Asset sales tempo: the timing and price of nickel, steelmaking coal, and De Beers exits will determine balance-sheet strength in 2026.
- Weather risk premium: as severe weather events happen more often, how much buffer (and cost) does Anglo include in Australian manganese to avoid another long outage?
Bottom line
Anglo American’s increase in manganese output shows that its Australian mine business has weathered the worst of Tropical Cyclone Megan. The company is taking action: exporting ore, maintaining discipline on guidance, and streamlining to a simpler portfolio focused on metals with real pricing power in an energy-transformation world. The recovery is genuine, the numbers are significant, and the strategy is finally in tune with how the business is performing on the ground.
Crafmin.com – Real-time news and insights in Crypto, Mining, Tech, AI, Forex, and Global Markets.
