Anglo American looks set to complete its exit from thermal coal, having agreed to sell its 33.3% interest in the Cerrejón joint venture, in Colombia, to Glencore for around $294 million.

Glencore and BHP currently each also hold a 33.3% interest in Cerrejón, with Glencore intending to acquire both Anglo American’s and BHP’s interests for $588 million in total, thereby assuming full ownership of the asset upon completion.

Cerrejón is one of the largest surface mining operations in the world and mines high-quality thermal coal for the export market. It moves 550 Mt/y by 100% truck and shovel equipment, using more than 300 trucks.

Anglo, earlier in the year, agreed to demerge its thermal coal operations in South Africa to a new holding company called Thungela Resources Limited, with the latest agreement on Cerrejón marking the completion of its thermal coal exposure.

Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “Today’s agreement marks the last stage of our transition from thermal coal operations. During that transition, we have sought to balance the expectations of our wide range of different stakeholders as we have divested our portfolio of thermal coal operations, in each case choosing the exit option most appropriate for the asset and its distinct local and broader circumstances.”

Both transactions are subject to a number of competition authority and other regulatory approvals, with completing expected in the first half of 2022.

Glencore said on the transactions: “Based on our long-term relationship with Cerrejón and knowledge of the asset, we strongly believe that acquiring full ownership is the right decision and the progressive expiry of the current mining concessions by 2034 is in line with our commitment to a responsible managed decline of our coal portfolio. Production volumes are expected to decline materially from 2030.”