Anglo American is targeting a return to longwall production at its troubled Grosvenor coal mine by late 2027.

The company provided an update on recovery progress at that site and Moranbah North in its latest quarterly report.

Grosvenor mine visual inspections during the December quarter confirmed limited damage to critical life-of-mine infrastructure, the company said.

This followed regulatory approval in August 2025 for the first stage of re-entry.

Related: Underground action steps up at Grosvenor mine

‘This progress supports restart plans already underway and, subject to investment approval, longwall production is targeted to recommence by late 2027,’ it said.

The Grosvenor operation has been out of action since the workforce was evacuated in June 2024 when a fire broke out underground.

At Moranbah North, Anglo tapped its remote mining technology to restart underground activity in November under conditions approved by the regulator.

‘Moranbah North continues to ramp up ahead of transitioning to normal longwall operations, subject to regulatory approval,’ the company reported.

Related: Remote restart as Moranbah North comes back to life

Production was suspended at the Bowen Basin site in March last year after what Anglo describes as a minor gas ignition event underground.

Peabody Energy cited the situation at Moranbah North when it announced in August that it had terminated agreements to purchase Anglo American’s steelmaking coal assets in Queensland.

Anglo American remains commited to divesting the steelmaking coal business and noted in the December quarterly report that the formal sales process was progressing well.

It expects a sale to be agreed in 2026.

“We are committed to seeing our portfolio transformation through to its conclusion,” chief executive officer Duncan Wanblad said.

“The formal sale process for steelmaking coal is progressing well, and we continue to ramp up Moranbah North ahead of transitioning to normal longwall operations.”

Production across Anglo’s Queensland steelmaking coal portfolio decreased by 15 per cent in the three months to December 31 compared to the previous year.

This was mainly due to the sale of its minority interest in Jellinbah in the meantime as well as lower production at the Dawson open-cut operation late last year due to wet weather and mine sequencing in the quarter.

This was partially offset by higher production achieved at the Aquila underground mine enabled by continued strong longwall performance.

Anglo produced 2.1 million tonnes of metallurgical coal last quarter compared to 2.4 million tonnes at the same time in 2024. The output across its Bowen Basin operations in 2025 totalled 8.2 million tonnes.

The full-year average realised price for the group’s hard coking coal was $164/tonne, compared to the benchmark price of $188/tonne.

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