Anglo American may sell Brazilian phosphate assets to Vale, reports say

Anglo American could have found a buyer willing to pay around $1bn for its niobium and phosphates business in Brazil, according to reports late on Tuesday.

Brazilian mining giant Vale was said to be working with American private equity firm Apollo on a deal, according to sources cited by Reuters.

With commodity prices at historic lows, Anglo's chief executive Mark Cutifani has been looking to offload non-core assets, targeting sale worth between $3bn to $4bn to bring its net debt down from more than $10bn at present.

Last week the FTSE 100 group announced it had entered into a sale and purchase agreement to offload its 70% interest in the Foxleigh metallurgical coal mine in Australia.

The agreement, with a consortium led by Taurus Fund Management, was to be effected by the sale of shares in the subsidiary companies holding Anglo American’s interest in Foxleigh, though the exact terms remained confidential.

Last month, it received regulatory approval to sell subsidiary Anglo American Platinum’s Rustenburg platinum mines (RPM) and Aquarius Platinum's its own adjacent operation by Johannesburg-listed Sibanye Gold.

Meanwhile, Vale has also been shifting around its assets as it looks to focus on its core mining businesses.