Centre for Environmental Rights - Advancing Environmental Rights in South Africa

Company overview

Anglo American is a multinational mining company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the JSE. It has 72,000 permanent employees in South Africa (including those in subsidiary companies)¹ and operates in the Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and the North West Province.²

Anglo American mines platinum, iron ore and coal in South Africa. It also owns 85% of diamond mining company De Beers.

The company’s platinum business (Anglo American Platinum Limited) is the leading producer of platinum world-wide and has 10 mining operations in production, a tailings re-treatment facility, three smelters, a base metals refinery and a precious metals refinery.³ This operation has been dealt with separately under the ‘Anglo American Platinum Limited’ section of this report.

Anglo American’s iron ore business consists primarily of a 69.7% shareholding in Kumba Iron Ore Limited. Kumba Iron Ore operates two mines in the Northern Cape and one mine in Limpopo.

Anglo American’s thermal coal business operates seven mines in South Africa and also has a 50% interest in the Mafube Colliery and Phola washing plant.⁴