Anglo American's copper, diamond production falls in first half

LONDON (Reuters) -Global miner Anglo American on Thursday reported a 13% fall in copper production in the first half of the year to 342,200 metric tons, and a 26% fall in rough diamonds, as demand remains sluggish.

The London-listed miner still expects to mine 690,000-750,000 tons of copper this year, down from 773,000 in 2024. The metal is used in electrical wiring and its demand is expected to increase for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure.

The miner is restructuring its business to mainly focus on copper, as well as iron ore, following BHP's failed attempt to take it over last year.

It has demerged its platinum business and has agreed, though not yet completed, the sale of its nickel and coking coal assets. These businesses are now expected to be reported as discontinued operations in the company's 2025 half-year results on July 31.

Despite a production halt caused by a fire at one of the mines included in the $3.78 billion sale to Peabody Energy () in April, the miner still expects the transaction to be completed.

On Thursday, it said a formal process for the sale of diamond unit De Beers is advancing, despite the current challenging market conditions.

Its first-half rough diamond production dropped 26% to 7.22 million carats. Anglo had previously cut its production forecast for 2025 to a range of 20 million to 23 million carats, from 30 million to 33 million, as demand remains low and inventories high.

Iron ore production increased by 2% to 31.38 million tons in the first half.

(Reporting by Clara Denina, Editing by Louise Heavens and Tomasz Janowski)