Anglo American sells Australian steelmaking coal assets for £810m

Anglo American has agreed to sell its stake in a joint venture that operates two Australian steel coal mines, as the miner prepares to exit the market.

The FTSE 100 group told shareholders on Monday it would sell its 33 per cent stake in Jellinbah Group, which owns 70 per cent of the Jellinbah East and Lake Vermont mines, to Zashvin for cash proceeds of A$1.6 billion ( £810 million).

Anglo is currently restructuring its operations in a simplification drive, which boss Duncan Wanblad said would allow the group to agree the sale of its remaining Australian steel assets “in the coming months”.

The most recent sale to Zashvin, who is also a 33.3 per cent shareholder in Jellinbah, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approval.

Zashvin’s James Xu said Jellinbah’s success has been “driven by strong partnerships”, highlighting Anglo’s “important role in this journey” and its “dedication to making this transaction seamless and efficient”.

Anglo-American stocks They rose 1.1 percent to 2,421.5 pence in early trading, having added around 23 percent since the start of the year.

The 107-year-old mining giant’s 2024 year has been dominated by a major strategic restructuring, which should see the FTSE 100 company sell its nickel, coal, De Beers diamond and platinum businesses within two years.

Anglo’s strategic bet comes after it rejected a proposed £39bn takeover by Australian mining giant BHP.

Some analysts believe Anglo remains vulnerable to takeover approaches, with BHP still said to be interested.

Boss Wanblad said on Monday: “We are making excellent progress with our simplification of Anglo American to create an interesting and differentiated investment proposition focused on our world-class copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients assets, all products that enable the future.”

“This highly cash-generative and much higher margin portfolio will offer greater resilience through cycles and the benefit of significant high-quality, well-sequenced growth options, including a clear path to increase annual copper production to more of one million tonnes by early 2030.’