- The London listed entity to focus on Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and SA
- The miner will focus on copper, platinum and gold
London Listed Anglo American is intensifying its exploration efforts in southern Africa. Anglo will be exploring areas it exited decades ago when metal prices were depressed. This includes areas such as the Copperbelt of Africa which extends from DRC to Zambia to Angola. Metal prices have now almost quadrupled making it attractive for investment.
Angola American will be devoting 33% of its $6-billion budget (over 5 years) to Southern Africa investing in platinum, diamond and iron-ore mines that are spitting out cash.
The London-based company is betting that Africa can deliver a portfolio of new ore bodies, even as BHP and Rio Tinto largely shun the continent and focus on returning cash to shareholders. It’s a reversal of Anglo’s almost two-decade retreat from a continent that long weighed on its shares, but the miner retains a higher tolerance for risk in what used to be its backyard.
After a collapse in commodity prices in 2015, the mining blue-chip talked about selling assets in SA, the home of its biggest diamond, iron ore and platinum mines. Early in 2017, Anglo confirmed that plan was dead. While exiting some higher-cost operations, its remaining mines in the country are the company’s biggest cash contributors.
Anglo’s shares have gained 13% this year, making them the best performers on the 11-member FTSE 350 Mining Index.
Further north, changes to Angola’s mining code have persuaded Anglo to add copper exploration to its diamond prospecting activities. The Angolan government has identified an extension of the Copperbelt, the world’s largest resource of the metal that stretches from Zambia (Zambezi area) through the southern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We are applying for exploration concessions to explore for base metals,” said James Wyatt-Tilby, a spokesperson for Anglo.
