Anglo American plc is a South African multinational mining company based in Johannesburg, South Africa and London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and metallurgical and thermal coal. The company has operations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.

Anglo American has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The company has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Anglo American focuses on natural resources with six core businesses: Kumba Iron Ore, Iron Ore Brazil, coal (thermal and metallurgical),base metals (copper, nickel, niobium and phosphates), platinum, and diamonds, through De Beers, in which it owns an 85% share. In 2008, the company had 105,000 permanent employees and 39,000 contract employees in its managed operations across 45 countries.

In 2008, Anglo American (excluding De Beers) spent $212 million on exploring 21 countries for resources including copper, nickel, niobium phosphates and zinc. The two main types of exploration for the company are greenfield and brownfield, with nearly 70% devoted to greenfield projects.

Anglo American, along with De Beers, backed the manufacturing of a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) to help improve the sensitivity of exploration surveys. Anglo American established Boart Products South Africa Limited in 1936 (later named Boart International) to turn the company’s stockpile of boart, or low-grade natural diamonds, into drilling products. This initiative resulted in the development of the first mechanically set diamond drill bit and later led to additional research into cutting and abrasive tools.

In December 2010, following delays and high costs, Anglo American gained a key license from the Brazilian government that would allow work to start on the Minas-Rio iron ore project. Production is initially expected to be 26.5 million tonnes per year; iron ore would be sent through a 525 km slurry pipeline to the Port of Açu. As of October 2014, Minas-Rio is operational and shipping ore.

In July 2018, Anglo American announced that it would spend $5.3 billion on developing the Quellaveco copper mine in Peru, which the company acquired in 1992, with the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi funding 40% of the total cost. As part of the project, Anglo American also committed 650 million soles ($195 million) towards local community developments projects in Moquegua, where the Quellaveco mine is located.

Type:                     Public limited company

Traded as:           LSE: AAL, JSE: AGL

FTSE 100:             Component

Industry:              Metals and Mining

Founded:            1917 (Johannesburg), (Anglo American Corporation) 1999 (London) (Anglo American plc)

Headquarters:   London, United Kingdom; Johannesburg, South Africa

Area served:      Worldwide

Products:             Copper, diamonds, iron ore, metallurgical coal, nickel, platinum, thermal coal

Subsidiaries:       De Beers

Website:              www.angloamerican.com