Another Anglo American asset sale: Troubled miner sells off Callide coal mine in Australia
Troubled Anglo American has sold another Australian mine to weather the deepening commodities crisis which has struck it hard.
Having shed over 84 per cent of its value in the past two years, the FTSE 100-listed miner is now selling its entire stake in the Callide thermal coal mine in Queensland, its second Australian asset sale in just two months as the company prepares for drastic downsizing.
In late December, Anglo American agreed to sell its 83 per cent stake in the Dartbrook coal mine in Australia for around £25.4m, and analysts are predicting more asset sales to come. A week ago, it kicked off a £680m sale of its Brazilian niobium and phosphate business in an effort to prop up its balance sheet.
The miner has also suspended dividend payments for the next 18 months, as well as shedding some two-thirds of its work force.
Read more: Short sellers eye Anglo American despite "radical restructuring"
Global miners have been struggling to stay afloat, feeling the squeeze of plummeting prices.
Mining stocks have weighed heavily on London’s blue-chip index, with the FTSE 100 shedding five per cent over the course of 2015 dragged by miners like Glencore and Anglo American plunging 70 per cent over the year.