Anglo American plc (“Anglo American”) is this week hosting a number of analysts and investors on a visit to its Crop Nutrients business, centred around the Woodsmith project in North Yorkshire, UK. The visit will highlight Woodsmith’s design as a modern underground mine that will produce a natural mineral fertiliser product, POLY4, which has a very low carbon footprint, is certified for organic use and enables farmers to increase crop yield, enhance crop quality and improve soil structure.  

Duncan Wanblad, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “Our primary business objective is to secure, develop and operate a portfolio of high quality and long-life mineral assets, from which we will deliver leading shareholder returns, and do so responsibly. In that context, Woodsmith is a great example of a world-class asset, in a low risk jurisdiction, offering long term value-adding growth.

“Woodsmith has major structural advantages given the sheer size and high quality of the orebody and its proximity to logistics. Its scale, low operating costs, low SIB capex, and the clear potential for a premium product price are expected to generate significant cash flow for many decades. Our diversified portfolio caters to three critical demand trends, with Woodsmith expected to become a cornerstone asset that contributes to our programme of margin-enhancing growth.”

Tom McCulley, CEO of Anglo American’s Crop Nutrients business and who recently led the delivery of the Quellaveco copper mine in Peru, said: “Woodsmith is not only an exciting project for the quality of the asset, but also for the many advantages that our product offers farmers. POLY4 is uniquely positioned to help solve the three key interconnected challenges the agricultural industry is facing: the increasing demand for food from less available land; the need to reduce the environmental impact of farming; and the deteriorating health of soils.”

The Woodsmith project is located five miles south of Whitby in North Yorkshire, UK, where polyhalite ore will be extracted from deep underground and transported to Teesside via conveyor belt in a tunnel, thereby minimising any environmental or surface impact. The natural ore requires no processing beyond simple granulation and the finished fertiliser product – POLY4 – will be exported as a multi-nutrient product to a network of customers around the world from a port facility at Teesside.

The presentations that will be made during the visit will be available on the Anglo American website https://www.angloamerican.com/investors/investor-presentations