Anglo American agrees to sell Queensland coal mines to Dhilmar for up to $3.88bn

Anglo American found a second buyer for its Queensland metallurgical coal business on 18 May 2026, agreeing to sell the mines to Dhilmar for as much as $3.88bn in cash. News24 put the value at about R65bn.

Terms

Dhilmar will pay $2.3bn upfront. On top of that, Anglo can receive up to $1.58bn in payments linked to coal prices over the five years after completion. Anglo plans to use the money to reduce net debt. The headline value is broadly in line with the roughly $3.8bn Peabody Energy agreed to pay in November 2024, before it walked away after a fire at Moranbah North. Anglo said it was continuing its arbitration against Peabody over that aborted deal.

Dhilmar is led by Alexander Ramlie, an Indonesian former investment banker who was part of the consortium behind PT Amman Mineral Internasional, which bought a large Indonesian copper mine from Newmont. The assets sit in Queensland's Bowen Basin. Moranbah North has since restarted, but Grosvenor, Anglo's second-largest metallurgical coal operation, remains closed after a 2024 underground fire.

Why it matters

Steelmaking coal was one of four businesses Anglo said it would leave in 2024, alongside platinum, diamonds and nickel. With Valterra Platinum already gone, this sale would leave De Beers and the Brazilian nickel business as the main outstanding disposals before the merger with Teck. Anglo's shares slipped as much as 1.6% in Johannesburg on the day of the announcement, although they had gained almost 40% over the previous six months.

The transaction still needs to close, and Anglo has not given a firm completion date in the reports reviewed.

Sources

• News24: Anglo to sell Australian coal mines for R65bn, 18 May 2026
• Moneyweb: Anglo to sell Australia steelmaking coal mines for $3.88bn, 18 May 2026

Photo: A coal train in Queensland's Bowen Basin coalfield. Queensland State Archives, Wikimedia Commons, PDM-owner.