On July 26, Anglo-Swiss ferroalloy and
coking coal producer Xstrata Plc announced that its
coking coal output in
Australia amounted to 3.8 million metric tons in the first half of this year as a result of the inclusion of longwall operations at Oaky No.1, which had not been fully operational in the previous period, and increased productivity at Oaky North, while its semi-soft
coking coal production came to 3.9 million metric tons, increasing by 72.73 percent and 50 percent respectively, both compared to the corresponding period of 2009.
In the first half of 2010, Xstrata's average received export price for Australian
coking coal stood at $193.7/mt FOB, rising by 35.84 percent, while the average export price for Australian semi-soft
coking coal came to $123.1/mt, down 27.5 percent year on year.
Ferrochrome
production rebounded strongly to 608,000 metric tons in the first half of 2010 in response to rising demand, increasing by 149 percent over the same period in 2009. In the second quarter of 2010, Ferrochrome producers achieved a 35 percent increase in the benchmark price, as compared to the first quarter of this year, set against the continued strengthening of the rand against the US dollar and electricity price increases in South
Africa. The third quarter benchmark price has been settled at a level reduced slightly by 4.41 percent.
Meanwhile, in the first six months of this year, Xstrata's ferrovanadium
production volumes increased by 66.49 percent compared to the same period in 2009 in response to improving demand, amounting to 2,186 metric tons.
In H1 2010, Xstrata's total refined nickel
production rose to 45,458 metric tons, eight percent higher than the same period last year. Improved volumes were achieved by processing internally all of the feed from Xstrata Nickel Australasia (XNA) to maximize downstream utilization at the integrated nickel operations. However, Xstrata's total mined nickel
production regressed by 1.91 percent year on year to 27,960 metric tons.