Anglo American: Troubled firm behind Yorkshire's Woodsmith project raises £300m from platinum division
Anglo American, the struggling mining giant behind Yorkshire’s Woodsmith fertiliser mine project, has announced that it has raised around £307m after selling just over five per cent of its platinum mining arm.
The move comes as part of a major restructuring effort from the firm, in which it plans to sell or list other units, including its De Beers diamond division. The restructure was launched after Ango American saw off a £39bn takeover attempt from rival mining firm BHP earlier this year.
In an announcement to the London Stock Exchange, Anglo American’s South African subsidiary said it had sold 13,940,000 ordinary shares of Anglo American Platinum – representing approximately 5.3 per cent of the firm – for a total of around R7.2bn.
The sale comes ahead of a planned full demerger of the company’s platinum unit.
The firm said that Anglo American Platinum is “not a party to the Placing and will not receive any proceeds,” and that settlement of the Placing Shares is expected to occur on or around September 16 2024 on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
It added: “As part of the Placing, Anglo American South Africa Proprietary Limited remaining shares in Anglo American Platinum will be subject to a lock-up of 90 days, subject to customary exceptions.”
Construction on the North Yorkshire-based Woodsmith project started back in 2017, with plans to open in 2027. It was taken over by Anglo American in 2020.
The firm announced earlier this year that it would “slow development” on the project and make substantial investment cuts. Over 2,000 people had previously been working on the Woodsmith Project, but numbers are expected to be cut by about 60 per cent.
The company’s chief executive, Duncan Wanblad, since said there was a “good chance” the project would reach first production by 2030 if the firm is able to meet certain criteria, including the finding of a joint venture partner and the strengthening of its balance sheet.