South32 owns 60% of the Australia Manganese joint venture, while its share in the South Africa Manganese joint venture is 54.6%, the report said.
The sharp on-year fall was mainly due to low production at its Australia Manganese joint venture from the damage to port facilities at Groote Eylandt caused by Tropical Cyclone Megan in mid-March 2024.
For the first three quarters of FY25, production of manganese ore at this joint venture registered only 639,000 wmt, much lower than the 2.3 million wmt during the same period of the prior financial year.
Over January-March, production from the primary concentrator at Australia Manganese was paused after having established stockpiles ahead of the wet season. However, the company's FY25 production guidance stays unchanged at 1 million wet with the restart of the primary concentrator expected during the April-June quarter, the report said, adding that export sales are on track to recommence in May.
South32's share of manganese ore production at South Africa Manganese declined by 83,000 wmt or 5% on year to 1.56 million wmt during the first nine months of FY25, mainly due to planned maintenance at the Mamatwan open cut mine during the January-March quarter and the temporary shutdown at its Wessels underground mine, both in Northern Cape, during the prior quarter.
Over January-March, manganese ore output at South Africa Manganese reached 476,000 wmt, down by 2% from the previous quarter, while sales of ore from the joint venture fell by 18% on quarter to 407,000 wmt as port congestion had impacted the timing of shipments, South32 said.
For the current fiscal year ending June, production guidance at the South Africa venture remains unchanged at 2 million wmt, according to the report.