By Nina Kienle

Anglo American continues simplifying its portfolio, and backed its full-year guidance after a steady first quarter for both copper and premium iron ore production.

The London-listed miner is in the process of optimizing its portfolio to focus on its copper and premium iron ore businesses, with plans to offload its steelmaking coal and diamond businesses. A simpler business, with geographic balance and less complexity in capital allocation, should deliver sustainable incremental returns, according to the company.

"The sale process for steelmaking coal is progressing well, with expectations for a sale to be agreed in the second quarter of 2026," Chief Executive Duncan Wanblad said Tuesday.

Last week, Bloomberg News reported that Anglo had at least three potential buyers for the business after a deal with the U.S.'s Peabody Energy fell through. Australian miner Stanmore Resources, Japan's Mitsubishi Corp and Indonesia-based PT Buma International Group are among the ​bidders, Bloomberg said, citing unnamed sources.

In August, Peabody terminated an agreement to buy the group's steelmaking coal business in Australia, citing a material adverse-change clause following a fire in March 2025 that hit production. Anglo American initiated an arbitration process in October and said it was seeking damages for wrongful termination.

The company said Tuesday that it had resumed normal operations at its Moranbah North mine in Australia.

The sale process for diamond business De Beers is also progressing, with the miner continuing to assess further cost and capital preservation measures to minimize the impact from challenging diamond markets, it said.

Earlier this year, Anglo wrote down the value of the business by $2.3 billion--the third cut in three years--as challenging market conditions complicated plans to dispose of the unit. Soft economic growth in China and the rise of cheaper lab-made diamonds have taken the shine off the storied unit. Diamond jewelry retailers are increasingly embracing synthetic diamonds, especially in products such as engagement rings.

In addition, the miner is progressing through the European Commission's approval process for MMG's $500 million purchase of Anglo's Brazilian nickel business, it added. In November, the EU merger watchdog said it would deepen its investigation into the deal, citing competition concerns.

In the first three months of the year, the miner dug out 170,000 metric tons of copper, a 1% rise on the same period a year prior as it benefited from higher production at Los Bronces and Collahuasi in Chile.

Quarterly iron-ore production fell 2% to 15.2 million tons on slightly lower production from Kumba in South Africa and Minas-Rio in Brazil.

Steelmaking coal output tumbled 31% to 1.5 million tons after lower production from Moranbah North following the fire and significant weather impacts at Dawson in Australia.

"While the conflict in the Middle East is creating considerable volatility in the broader market, our resilient supply chain is currently supporting business continuity, and we are actively managing the situation to address potential adverse effects, including cost inflation," Chief Executive Duncan Wanblad said.

Looking forward, the company backed its full fiscal year production guidance for copper, premium iron ore and diamonds.

In morning European trade, shares are up 0.6%, while they are up 18% in the year to date.

Write to Nina Kienle at nina.kienle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2026 05:08 ET (09:08 GMT)

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