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REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Anglo grows fertiliser strategy

nglo American plc’s pivot towards The acquisition will see Anglo Ameri- ticularly for high-value crops such as tea,
A“later cycle products” continues can expanding its portfolio back into coffee and fruit and vegetables. While a
with the diversified miner announcing fertilisers after it sold its last remaining relatively immature market, Poly4 would
a $US526.2 million bid for UK fertiliser fertiliser project in Brazil in 2016 when it benefit from Anglo American’s global
developer Sirius Minerals plc and its was recovering from a commodity mar- marketing business, according to Cuti-
Woodsman project. ket crash. fani.
Sirius shareholders will receive 5.5p Cutifani last year signalled the com- Sirius had been battling to get bank
cash for each share, a 34.1% premium pany would look to divest its thermal financing to complete development of
on its January 7 price, the day before An- coal assets as it repositioned itself as a the project, on which it has spent $US1
glo American confirmed it was in takeo- greener producer. He said Woodsman billion to date. It began fundraising with
ver discussions with the struggling pot- would fit well with the company’s eco- retail investors in 2017 but embarked on
ash company. nomic and social goals. a review after scrapping a plan to raise
On announcing the deal, Anglo Ameri- “The addition of this Tier 1 project to $US500 million in a bond sale.
can chief executive Mark Cutifani said the portfolio absolutely supports our “We now face a stark choice. If the ac-
Sirius’ Woodsman North Yorkshire poly- transition to those metals and minerals quisition is not approved by shareholders
halite project had “clear potential to fit that will meet the world’s evolving needs, and does not complete there is a high
with our strategy of focusing on world- including infrastructure and food for the probability that the business could be
class assets, particularly given our tra- world’s fast-growing and urbanising placed into administration or liquidation
jectory towards later cycle products that population and the undoubted need for within weeks thereafter,” Sirius chairman
support a fast-growing global population cleaner energy and transport,” he said. Russell Scrimshaw said.
and a cleaner, greener, more sustainable Sirius’ Poly4 product is considered a Sirius had envisaged a 10 mtpa opera-
world”. premium quality fertiliser product, par- tion at Woodsman. Anglo American in-

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