London - Anglo American on Tuesday said it would suffer a one-off charge totalling $4.0 billion (3.0 billion euros) owing to delays at its Minas-Rio iron-ore mining project in Brazil that have sent costs rocketing.
The mining giant, which has been hit in recent months by slumping platinum output owing to violent strike action by workers in South Africa, said that it would “record an impairment charge of $4.0 billion” in its 2012 earnings.
“We are clearly disappointed that the diversity of challenges that our Minas-Rio project has faced has contributed to a significant increase in capital expenditure, leading to the impairment we have recorded,” chief executive Cynthia Carroll said in a statement.
“Despite the difficulties, we continue to be confident of the medium and long term attractiveness and strategic positioning of Minas-Rio and we remain committed to the project,” she added. - Sapa-AFP