Anglo American Plc agreed to sell its Australian steelmaking coal business to London-based Dhilmar for as much as $3.88 billion, marking a major milestone in Chief Executive Officer Duncan Wanblad’s sweeping restructuring to pivot the miner toward green-transition metals.
The transaction includes $2.3 billion in upfront cash and up to $1.58 billion in deferred payments linked to future coal prices, the company said in a statement. The sale of the Bowen Basin assets in Queensland completes Anglo American’s total exit from metallurgical coal, allowing the miner to shrink its debt load and sharpen its focus on copper and iron ore.
The deal breathes new life into Anglo’s divestment strategy after a previous $3.78 billion agreement with U.S.-based Peabody Energy Corp. collapsed following a disruptive mine fire. Anglo American said it is currently pursuing arbitration proceedings against Peabody over the failed transaction.
For Dhilmar, a privately held mining group, the acquisition expands a growing global portfolio. The firm has actively bought up assets from major miners, including the purchase of the Eleonore gold mine in Canada from Newmont Corp. last year.
Wanblad has been under intense pressure to accelerate the breakup of the 109-year-old mining house founded in South Africa by billionaire Ernest Oppenheimer ever since fighting off a hostile $49 billion takeover bid from rival BHP Group Ltd. To safeguard its independence, Anglo has embarked on an aggressive streamlining campaign, which includes cutting loose historic but underperforming assets.
Among those changes is a planned divestment of De Beers, the iconic diamond unit currently battered by a global slump in luxury demand. While Anglo plans to retain its stake in South Africa’s Kumba Iron Ore, the diamond business remains under review. The government of Botswana, which owns 15% of De Beers, has already expressed interest in increasing its equity stake.
The restructuring comes at a steep financial cost. Anglo American reported a full-year net loss of $3.17 billion for 2025, deepening from a $2.79 billion loss the previous year, dragged down by restructuring fees, the demerger of its platinum business, and heavy writedowns at De Beers. Operationally, the company is also facing headwinds, with annual copper production sliding 10% to 695,000 metric tonnes in 2025—hitting the bottom end of its own guidance.
Despite the earnings drag, Anglo is positioning itself for a massive growth spurt in transition commodities. In September 2025, the London-headquartered miner unveiled a $53 billion all-stock merger proposal with Canada’s Teck Resources Ltd. If successful, the combination would create the world’s fifth-largest copper producer, trailing only industry behemoths like BHP, Freeport-McMoRan, Codelco, and Glencore.
Market reaction to the coal sale was muted, with Anglo American shares falling 1.7% in Johannesburg and London, caught in a broader mining sector selloff triggered by lingering global inflation fears. The company currently commands a market valuation of approximately $56 billion.
