Royalty group Anglo Pacific on Thursday announced its exit from thermal coal by entering into an agreement to sell its 1% gross revenue royalty over the Narrabri mine, in Australia, to operator Whitehaven Coal for $36-million.
The transaction was in line with the group’s vision to move away from carbon-based energy exploration towards “twenty-first-century commodities supporting a more sustainable world”, CEO Julian Treger stated.
Anglo Pacific’s portfolio is now weighted towards cobalt, vanadium, copper and nickel, he said.
Treger stated that Whitehaven was selected as the preferred bidder for the Narrabri royalty, which was put up for sale in August, following a competitive sales process.
Anglo Pacific acquired the Narrabri royalty for $65-million in March 2015. At December 2021, the Narrabri royalty is expected to have a carrying value of about $45-million based on amortised cost. Since its acquisition, Anglo Pacific has received about $32-million in royalty income, with a further $1-million to $2-million expected before year-end.
Anglo Pacific will deploy the proceeds from the transaction into further acquisitions, including to partially fund the $20-million Incoa calcium carbonate financing set to occur in the first half of 2022.
Anglo Pacific, together with Orion, will fund Incoa Performance Minerals’ calcium carbonate mine and infrastructure in Dominican Republic, as well as a processing facility in Alabama, US.