Exxaro pre-empts Anglo's half of Moranbah South and sells project to Stanmore for $105m

Exxaro Resources said on 4 September 2026 that it would sell the Moranbah South metallurgical coal project in Queensland to Brisbane-based Stanmore Resources for $105m, or about R1.68bn.

How the deal works

Exxaro and Anglo American each owned half of Moranbah South, a project with a design capacity of 18 million tonnes a year. When Anglo agreed in May 2026 to sell its Australian steelmaking coal business, including its Moranbah South interest, to Dhilmar, Exxaro exercised its pre-emptive right over Anglo's 50%. It then agreed to sell the combined project to Stanmore, so it will briefly own an asset it has already decided to sell. Australian reports said the transaction also extinguishes up to $60m of earlier obligations linked to the project.

For Stanmore, Moranbah South sits next to the Eagle Downs project it recently bought from South32, and the two can share infrastructure.

Why Exxaro is selling

Chief executive Ben Magara said the project was non-core. Exxaro is focusing on South African coal, renewable energy and what it calls future-facing metals. It completed the purchase of a controlling interest in the Tshipi Borwa manganese mine in March 2026 and has said it is looking at copper. Owning a large undeveloped coking-coal project in Australia would have tied up capital that Exxaro wants to use elsewhere.

What happens next

Exxaro said it hoped to close the transaction by the fourth quarter of 2026. The sale remains subject to conditions. For Anglo, the pre-emption means Moranbah South will not form part of the coal package going to Dhilmar.

Sources

• Miningmx: Exxaro sells Moranbah South to Aussie miner for R1.68bn, 04 Sept 2026
• Business Day: Exxaro to buy Anglo stake in Australian coal project, sell it to Stanmore, 05 Sept 2026
• Kalkine: Stanmore Resources (ASX:SMR) to Acquire Moranbah South Coal Tenements for US$105M, Extinguishing Up to US$60M in Prior Obligations, 04 Sept 2026

Photo: The water tower in Moranbah, the Queensland coal-mining town near the Moranbah South project. Chris Olszewski, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.