Anglo American iron ore output rises, copper hits quarterly record

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) 's iron ore production rose more than expected in the fourth quarter, recovering from trouble at the division's largest mine and copper output also rose to a quarterly record.

Iron ore was the largest contributor to Anglo's profit in 2012 and the mining group said output at its key Kumba Iron Ore (Other OTC: KIROY - news) unit rose by 25 percent to 11.3 million tonnes in the fourth quarter from the same period a year earlier, when it was hit by a strike.

Copper, the second largest contributor to Anglo's profit, also provided good news with production up 24 percent year-on-year to a quarterly record of 214,400 tonnes, driven by strong output at the Los Bronces mine, and higher grades at Collahuasi.

Equivalent refined platinum production increased by 25 percent to 520,300 ounces in the fourth quarter as a result of an increase in production from Mogalakwena, the company said.

An ongoing strike of platinum miners in South Africa is costing the company about 4,000 ounces of platinum production a day resulting in 100 million rand ($9.11 million) of lost revenue per day though.

In platinum Anglo is battling labour trouble but also a margins squeeze due to higher costs and lower prices.

Anglo, the fifth-largest diversified mining group, is wrestling with a turnaround effort under Chief Executive Mark Cutifani, after years of sector-lagging returns.