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The coal brigade is back to kick tyres at London-listed miner Anglo American’s Australian mines.

Street Talk understands a handful of private capital players have reached out to Anglo American’s Australian outpost in recent weeks, keen to see if the company is interested in selling its Queensland coal mines.

The inbound interest was unsolicited, there was no offer on the table and a sell-side adviser had not been appointed to shake out a deal. A representative of the company declined to comment.

Anglo American’s Queensland coal mines, especially Moranbah and Grosvenor, are profitable assets that have helped it become the world’s third-largest exporter of steelmaking coal. The unit, which also includes smaller assets such as Dawson and Aquila, contributed $US615 million in EBITDA in the first half of 2023.

The coal giant’s share price fell nearly 18 per cent within a week in December and is 48 per cent lower than 12 months ago. This, combined with BHP’s divestment of its Blackwater and Daunia coal mines for $6.2 billion in October, had spurred tyre kickers into action, sources said.

While there is no certainty that the preliminary interest will progress, Anglo American’s exit from metallurgical coal has been on the cards for almost a decade. It ran a sale process in 2015, which culminated in exclusive talks with a consortium comprising private equity giant Apollo Global Management and exporter Xcoal Energy & Resources. However, it put the brakes on the sale the following year.

Front of mind for potential suitors would be the geology of Anglo’s Queensland mines, which come with complexity in operations as well as a much higher carbon footprint. Rio Tinto and Glencore have already caved in to pressure from green-minded investors and sold their coal assets.

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