ANGLO American reported a mixed set of production results for the June quarter on Thursday, with declines in iron ore, metallurgical and thermal coal as well as nickel, and analysts said it was faring badly compared with its peers.

Anglo, the latest of the major diversified mining companies to release production results, reported an increase in copper and diamond outputs and a small increase in equivalent refined platinum production. However, compared with the record production data posted by the likes of BHP Billiton, it did not please the market.

"Overall, not a great set of results, especially when compared to the better results from the other majors," London-based Numis Securities said, adding that a difficult labour environment and concerns around electricity in South Africa, where Anglo’s peers have far less exposure, would weigh on sentiment towards its shares.

John Meyer from SP Angel said: "Alcoa, Rio Tinto and BHP reported good productions ahead of the August earnings season. Unsurprisingly, Anglo American has posted the worst performance as the company remains structurally challenged. South Africa is a major drag on the company, with management continually distracted by issues at home." Anglo is undertaking a major review of its business, the outcome of which should be released along with its interim financial results next Friday.

Mark Cutifani, the former AngloGold Ashanti CEO who took over the helm of Anglo from Cynthia Carroll in April, has overseen the review of the company’s businesses and strategy.

"We don’t expect ‘fireworks’. We do expect Mr Cutifani to lay out a ‘sensible’ path which acknowledges the real challenges that Anglo faces ," Merrill Lynch said earlier this week.

"The CEO also indicated that he has revisited the value prospect of the diversified mining house model. To us, this suggests more that there is the potential to sell down some noncore assets, not that Anglo is going to ‘undiversify’ itself," it said.

Mr Cutifani has pointed out he wanted to address the perception of South Africa as a risky place to do business, scrutinise the way capital allocation decisions are made and then processed and have a close look at operational efficiencies.

One of the major projects undertaken before he took over at Anglo is the restructuring of Anglo American Platinum (Amplats). The initial plan outlined in January provoked the anger of the government, labour and the ruling African National Congress. After more than two months of talks with the government, Amplats said it would lay off up to 6,000 workers instead of 14,000. It is engaged in a formal process with unions to give effect to its restructuring.

"The restructuring of the group’s platinum operations likely will be a key litmus test for public perception of SA risk. We think the group needs to show that it can deliver restructuring at Amplats, a very difficult social and political undertaking in our view," Merrill Lynch said.

Anglo made no mention yesterday of its Minas Rio project in Brazil. There are growing expectations that Anglo may bring a partner into the project, which has drawn fierce criticism from analysts and investors for the ballooning costs and delays.

Like much of the mining industry around the world, Anglo is reining in expenditure. It cut spending on evaluation of iron ore, metallurgical coal, copper and diamond prospects by 35% to $87m. The inclusion of De Beers’s exploration spend in Anglo offset cuts made within the group. Anglo spent $45m on exploration in the June quarter, a $5m increase attributed largely to De Beers.