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South32 concerns future of Worsely Alumina, flags $554 mln charge

South32 said on Monday that the future of its Western Australian Worsley Alumina company was in concern due to environmental license requirements as it flagged a $554 million charge on the organization. Its shares moved more than 10%.

The Australian varied miner's Worsley Alumina operations began an environmental approval procedure with the Western Australia Environmental Management Authority (WA EPA) in 2019 to mine more bauxite in native forest south of Perth.

The regulator in early July authorized the proposal for mine development but attached a swathe of conditions on mining in the environmentally delicate forest location that suggested the operations which use more than 2,000 people were untenable.

If enforced in their existing kind, a number of conditions advised by the WA EPA produce substantial operating challenges for Worsley Alumina and impact its long-lasting practicality, stated South32, which plans to challenge the choice.

South32 said that it will acknowledge an extra pre-tax impairment cost of $264 million for its Cerro Matoso nickel task in Colombia in its functional results that likewise included downgrades to production expectations for the financial year that started in July.

Both impairments were non-cash problems.

It cut Worsley production guidance for this financial year by 6%, Sierra Gorda copper production by 7% and zinc production at Cannington by 9%.

Shares in South32 fell 12.9% to A$ 2.98.

Jefferies stated that while the lower production guidance was negative for the miner, the upcoming sale of its Australian steel-making coal possessions would supply development capital for its Hermosa task in the U.S.

. That sale was on track for the very first quarter of calendar 2025, after a consortium led by Singapore's Golden Energy and Resources protected $850 million to purchase South32's Australian coking coal properties, 2 sources informed , with personal credit continuing to fill a funding gap for the mostly debanked sector.

South32's fourth-quarter manganese ore production plunged by over 60%, harmed by the short-term suspension of operations at its Groote Eylandt Mining Co (GEMCO) system in the Gulf of Carpentaria which has been suspended since mid-March following a cyclone.

As an outcome, the varied miner's manganese output for the quarter ended June 30 was up to 534,000 damp metric lots

(source: Reuters)