Anglo American to sell 33% stake in Australian coal mines for $1.1 billion

British mining multinational Anglo American has agreed to sell its 33.3 per cent stake in joint venture Jellinbah Group Pty Ltd, to Zashvin Pty Limited for A$1.6 billion ($1.1 billion) in cash.

Zashvin, already owns 30 per cent stake in the Jellinbah East and Lake Vermont mines in Australia that produce coking coal.

Zashvin Ltd is an Australian power generation company. 

Anglo expects the sale to be completed by the middle of next year, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

With mining operations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas, Anglo American is the world's largest producer of platinum, accounting for around 40 per cent of global production. It is also a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, polyhalite and coking coal. 

The sale is part of Anglo American's plan to restructure its business by divesting non-core assets and focusing on copper, iron ore and fertiliser operations.

The company is also in the process of finalising the sale of its remaining coking coal assets in Australia, according to CEO Duncan Wanblad.

The company will also be soon selling off its nickel assets in Brazil and platinum mines in South Africa. 

Separately, the miner is weighing plans to spin off its De Beers diamonds unit through sale or fresh listing.

By selling off non-core activities, Anglo American is trying to safeguard its copper assets in Latin America, which is the main target of bigger rivals like the BHP Group, which has come out with a $49 billion bid for Anglo’s assets.

Anglo is looking to raise copper output at its mines in Chile and Peru to about 1 million tonnes by 2030.