Anglo American is exploring options for the sale of its coal division following an underground blaze at its Grosvenor steelmaking coal mine in Queensland, Australia, reported Bloomberg News.

Recently, a methane explosion deep underground at the Grosvenor coal mine resulted in a huge fire. Operations at the mine were halted, with their resumption expected to take several months.

The sale forms part of the company’s broader restructuring programme announced earlier this year to stave off a takeover attempt by BHP Group.

In May this year, BHP announced it will not make a formal offer to acquire Anglo American after its £39bn (A$58.63bn) buyout proposal was rejected.

The offer was declined by Anglo American, which cited concerns about its complex structure and execution risks.

Anglo American’s plan to offload its coal assets was initially considered the most straightforward part of the restructuring, both internally and by stakeholders.

According to sources, the company had been preparing to initiate the sale process soon, aiming to finalise a deal by year-end, prior to the incident.

The company is now considering options such as divesting the remaining coal operations excluding Grosvenor or selling the other mines individually. However, no definitive decisions have been made.

Interest in the coal assets had already been expressed, according to the news agency.

In addition to the coal business, Anglo American is also devising plans to spin off its majority stake in Anglo American Platinum and to exit from its ownership of De Beers.

The company is also looking to spin off its platinum unit and either separate or sell diamond miner De Beers.