BHP, Glencore said to bid for Anglo’s Australian coal mines

MELBOURNE – BHP Billiton Ltd. and Glencore Plc are among final bidders for Anglo American Plc’s Australian metallurgical coal assets that may fetch about $1.5-billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Anemka Resources, the mining investor backed by Warburg Pincus, has also made a bid, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. China’s Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. and a pairing of Apollo Global Management LLC and Xcoal Energy & Resources LLC, submitted final bids for the Moranbah and Grosvenor mines by a June 6 deadline, as well, the people said.

Anglo American could reach an agreement for the mines as soon as this month, though no final decision has been made and talks could still fall apart, they said. Glencore may be bidding with a partner, one of the people said.

Anglo American Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani wants to raise $3-billion to $4-billion from asset sales to help reduce debt and refocus the London-based company as a miner of diamonds, platinum and copper. In April, the company agreed to sell its Brazilian niobium and phosphate unit to  China Molybdenum Co. for $1.5-billion, and it has also agreed to sell interests in several Australian coal mines including Foxleigh, Callide and Dartbrook.

Representatives for Anglo American, BHP, Glencore, Anemka and Xcoal declined to comment. Calls and an e-mail to Yanzhou weren’t immediately returned outside of regular business hours. A representative for Apollo didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Anglo American owns 88 percent of the Moranbah North mine, located in Queensland’s Bowen Basin and has annual output of four-million metric tons of coking coal, according to the company’s website. The nearby Grosvenor project, which was scheduled to begin production later this year, delivered its first coal seven months ahead of schedule, the company said in May.