Mining-and-metals company South32 has revised its alumina production guidance down due to a de-bottlenecking initiative, it said in its third-quarter financial year report on Thursday April 18.
The company reduced production guidance at its Worsley alumina facility in operation by 4% to 3.79 million tonnes to, "support a sustainable increase in production-to-nameplate capacity ahead of future de-bottlenecking," it said.South32 owns a 86% share of the Worsley alumina refinery in Western Australia, with Japan Alumina Associated owning 10% and Sojitz Alumina owning the remaining 4% share.Production at Worsely fell by 15% to 893,000 tonnes compared with the previous quarter, which runs from October to December of 2018. Concurrently, sales fell 10% quarter on quarter to 936,000 tonnes in the third quarter of the company's 2019 financial year.The company will increase production at the facility to a nameplate capacity of 4.6 million tonnes per year by 2020.South32 also reduced the production guidance at its Brazil Alumina operation, of which it owns a...