Anglo American is accelerating its sweeping portfolio reorganisation and streamlining programme, with CEO Duncan Wanblad declaring the company firmly on track to become a leaner, higher-margin business.
By Ryan Chigoche
The second-quarter performance, released this week, offered a snapshot of that transition, showcasing strong contributions from core commodities like copper, iron ore, and manganese, even as diamond, steelmaking coal, and PGM output continued to lag.
The diversified miner is working through a series of strategic shifts, including the completed demerger of Valterra Platinum, the ongoing sale of its nickel assets, and a formal process to divest De Beers. These moves are central to Anglo’s ambition to concentrate on fewer, high-performing assets and unlock greater long-term value.
In the company’s Q2 trading update, CEO Duncan Wanblad said Anglo is making meaningful progress on portfolio simplification and cost optimisation while ensuring delivery across its core operations. He expressed optimism that the business is well-positioned to emerge from this transition stronger and more profitable.
“We continue to progress with our portfolio simplification as we reshape our business for the longer term, and our reorganisation and cost reduction programmes are on track. The demerger of Valterra Platinum at the end of May has been a great success with considerable value unlocked for shareholders, and we are continuing to progress the nickel and steelmaking coal transactions. A formal process for the sale of De Beers is advancing, despite the current challenging market conditions,” said Wanblad.
“Looking beyond this transitional year, we will emerge as a highly differentiated, higher-margin, and more cash-generative business, setting us up to deliver the outstanding potential of our world-class assets and resource endowments.”
That forward-looking confidence was partly underpinned by a solid Q2 2025 showing from Anglo’s remaining core assets. Manganese ore production posted the sharpest increase, rising 109% to 745,600 tonnes, after Australian operations resumed following cyclone damage earlier in 2024. Export volumes recovered from mid-May, supporting the surge in output.
Copper production rose 3% quarter-on-quarter to 173,300 tonnes, driven by improved performance at Collahuasi in Chile—up 36% due to better water supply and plant efficiency—and continued stability at Quellaveco in Peru, which produced 76,700 tonnes despite slightly lower grades. Chilean copper output overall climbed to 96,600 tonnes, up 9% from Q1, though production at Los Bronces fell by 15% on lower throughput. Anglo noted that the Donoso 2 phase at Los Bronces remains on track for completion by early 2027.
Iron ore output also grew 3% to 15.9 million tonnes, with Minas-Rio in Brazil contributing 6.7 million tonnes, and Kumba Iron Ore producing 9.3 million tonnes. The increase was supported by improved plant efficiency at Minas-Rio and higher volumes at Kolomela, which offset maintenance-related declines at Sishen.
However, several non-core or exiting businesses recorded declines. Rough diamond production fell 32% from the previous quarter to 4.1 million carats, reflecting reduced activity in response to continued weak demand. Steelmaking coal production dropped 8% to 2.1 million tonnes, impacted by the ongoing suspension of Grosvenor and the March incident at Moranbah. Higher volumes from Aquila and Capcoal partially cushioned the decline.
Nickel output slipped 3% to 9,500 tonnes as operations processed lower-grade ore. Anglo American said it expects the sale of its nickel business to MMG Singapore Resources to be completed following regulatory approvals.
PGM production declined sharply during the quarter, but those numbers have now been separated from Anglo’s continuing operations following the demerger of Valterra Platinum in May.
On the cost side, Anglo maintained production and unit cost guidance for copper and iron ore. In copper, regional cost adjustments were made: lower unit costs were reported in Peru, supported by higher by-product credits and lower charges, while costs in Chile rose due to changes in the production mix. Overall copper unit cost guidance remains unchanged.
As the company works through what Wanblad has called a “transitionary year,” the focus is firmly on unlocking value through a simplified structure and disciplined capital allocation.
The Q2 results suggest that Anglo’s core assets are holding firm even as market pressures weigh on segments the group is already preparing to exit.
