What are the top bullet points in Anglo American PLC’s (LON:AAL) second-quarter results release?
Not that it has increased rough diamond production by 134% over the comparable quarter in 2020; not that it has boosted platinum group metals by 59%, or that iron ore production has risen by 6%.
No, in this current ESG-obsessed world, Anglo American leads with what it’s not doing: coal.
Because during the quarter to June 2021 the world’s fourth most important mining company completed the demerger of its South African thermal coal operations and announced the sale of its 33% interest in the Cerrejón thermal coal mine in Colombia.
The company saves the coal operations it still has, at Moranbah in Australia, for the last of its bullet points.
Moranbah remains, for now, because although it’s coal it doesn’t suffer from the double discount of being in South Africa, where increasing social disintegration has become evident in the past few weeks.
"We have generally maintained operating levels at approximately 95% of normal capacity and, as a consequence, production increased by 20% compared to Q2 of last year,” said Anglo chief executive Mark Cutifani.
Last year’s second quarter came at the height of the Coronavirus panic.
“Our portfolio and growth investments are increasingly focused on those future-enabling metals and minerals that are critical to decarbonising energy and transport and to meeting consumers' growing needs, from luxury to everyday," continued Cutifani.
Coal is out. Everything else is in.