- Stanmore’s acquisition strengthens its Bowen Basin coking coal portfolio
- Adds 724 mnt of premium hard coking coal resources
Australia’s Stanmore Resources Limited, a Sydney-listed coal miner, has agreed to acquire 100% interest in the Moranbah South coal project in central Queensland’s Bowen Basin from South Africa-based resources company Exxaro Resources Limited, Stanmore has announced. The acquisition is part of Stanmore’s efforts to strengthen synergies among its coal assets, it said.
Moranbah South is located immediately adjacent to two undeveloped Stanmore coal projects, Eagle Downs and the Isaac Downs Extension, making the tenements potentially accessible through mine infrastructure at Eagle Downs.
“The [Moranbah South] tenements are strategically complementary to Stanmore’s neighbouring projects,” Marcelo Matos, Stanmore CEO, said in the release.
Taking total control of Moranbah South also enables access to the Isaac Downs Extension through the Moranbah South tenements, Matos added.
Stanmore says that Moranbah South contains 724 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources of premium hard coking coal that it expects will further help to expand the company’s portfolio of high-quality coking coal in Queensland.
Currently, Exxaro owns a 50% interest in Moranbah South, with the other 50% stake held by London-headquartered mining giant Anglo American plc. However, after Anglo American decided to sell its coking coal business to British mining company Dhilmar Ltd, Exxaro has exercised its joint venture pre-emptive rights to acquire Anglo’s 50% interest in the project, according to an announcement published by Exxaro on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on September 4.
Stanmore now owns and operates three coking coal mines in the Bowen Basin — namely the South Walker Creek and Poitrel open-cut mines and the Isaac Plains Complex, alongside several coal projects awaiting development in Queensland’s Bowen and Surat basins. In the first half of 2026, the company’s run-of-mine coal production and coal sales totalled 9.1 million tonnes and 6.4 million tonnes, respectively, as Mysteel Global reported.
The payment for the acquisition is estimated at US$105 million, with the transaction expected to conclude before the end of the fourth quarter of this year, according to Stanmore’s statement, conditional on “Exxaro holding a 100% interest in the Moranbah South tenements”.
“We outlined … a clear path to accelerate the disciplined execution of our strategy, including crystalising our portfolio into three distinct pillars of our established South African coal business … for long-term value creation,” said Ben Magara, CEO of Exxaro, in the announcement. “As part of this strategy, we showed our investment in Moranbah South as non-core,” he said.
Exxaro’s current asset portfolio comprises coal, iron ore, zinc, manganese, and renewable energy. Apart from the Moranbah South coal project in Australia, Exxaro has five coal operations in South Africa, including a 12% interest in the Richards Bay Coal Terminal — a major coal export conduit of the country, Mysteel Global learns.
Note: The article is published as part of a content sharing agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.
Leave a Reply