Globally diversified miner Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) Friday reported mixed output with copper, coal, diamond and nickel output up, but iron ore down and platinum output broadly flat on the year in the third quarter.

Anglo American, the world's fifth largest diversified miner by market capitalization, said iron-ore output fell 24% on year and 16% on quarter to 9.5 million metric tons, while copper production rose 32% on year and 13% on quarter to 207,300 tons in the third quarter. Iron ore and copper accounted for about half and a fifth of the company's underlying operating profit during the first half of this year.

The FTSE-100 miner produced more iron ore and copper just as prices for both commodities rebounded in the third quarter from their lows in the second quarter. Iron ore and copper prices recovered amid growing optimism that China, the world's largest consumer of the two products, can achieve a soft landing. China released data Friday showing that its economy expanded by around 7.8% in the third quarter, in line with economists' expectations.

Mining titan Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) also reported earlier in the week a rise in third-quarter iron ore production to a quarterly record stemming from the continued expansion of its West Australian operations. Rio's second-quarter copper output also rose 11% on quarter due in part to faster-than-expected recovery of its U.S. operations, where it suffered a landslide at one of its open pit mines.

Iron ore output at Anglo American' majority owned South African unit, Kumba Iron Ore Ltd (KIO.JO), fell due to lower output from the Sishen mine as a result of pit constraints and work safety stoppages. Copper production increased on year due improved operating performance at its Chilean Los Bronces mine and a more than doubling of output from Chile's Collahuasi mine, following repair work on a mill that broke down last year and access to higher ore grades.

Anglo's third-quarter combined coal output rose 3.4% on year to 26.7 million tons with higher Colombian coal exports, South African thermal coal output and metallurgical coal production offseting lower South African thermal coal exports. Coal accounted for 11% of the company's first-half underlying operating profit.

The miner's majority-owned South African unit Anglo American Platinum Ltd. (AMS.JO), the world's largest platinum producer, saw equivalent platinum output drop 0.5% on year to 623,000 troy ounces in the third quarter. It said that strike action against its proposed job cuts resulted in a loss of about 44,000 platinum ounces of production between Sep 27 and Oct 10.

Diamond output from majority-owned De Beers SA, the world's second largest rough diamond producer, rose 21% to 7.73 million carats in the third quarter largely due output recovery at its Jwaneng mine. Nickel output rose 7% on year in the third quarter to 9,600 tons due to higher output from its Brazilian Barro Alto facility, but the miner cautioned that the furnace will have to be rebuilt during 2014 and 2015 and full production rates aren't expected to be achieved until 2016.