The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Anglo American plc, a 50-50 partner in the Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska, posted record earnings of $5.8 billion, or $4.40 a share, and $10.1 billion in operating profits in 2007. The results compared with $5.5 billion, or $3.73 a share, in earnings and $9.8 billion in operating profits a year earlier.
Total group revenue, however, decreased 7.7 percent in 2007, dipping to $35.7 billion from $38.6 billion in 2006.
"The strength of our performance was due to improved production volumes of ferrous metals, copper and zinc, an increased focus on operational discipline and a continuation of the supportive trading environment," Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll said in a statement.
Anglo American pursued a combination of strategic restructuring and a period of building from a position of strength, including the identification and execution of opportunities to drive new growth and value, Carroll said.
She also noted that Anglo American has "a tremendous $41 billion pipeline of projects approved and under consideration across three commodity businesses" - precious, base metals and bulks - which should generate significant profitable growth for the company, both in the near and medium term.
The Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum deposit is one project in this pipeline. In July 2007, Anglo American became a 50 percent partner with the Northern Dynasty Partnership, a wholly owned affiliate of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., in the Pebble Limited Partnership for a staged cash investment of $1.425 billion. The partnership owns the Pebble Project which has the open-pit-style Pebble
West copper-gold-molybdenum deposit and the adjacent, deeper and higher grade Pebble East deposit. The resources at Pebble rank amongst the world's most important accumulations of copper, gold and molybdenum, according to Anglo American.
The company said the partnership's objective is to complete a pre-feasibility study in 2008, feasibility study around 2011 and to have a world-class mine in operation by 2015.
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