Stanmore Deal For Moranbah South Expands Goonyella Assets

Coal miner Stanmore has agreed a deal with South Africa-based coal miner Exxaro to acquire its Moranbah South coking coal project in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, Australia for US$105m. 

The acquisition is expected to conclude before the end of Q4 2026, subject to the acquisition receiving the necessary regulatory approvals. 

"The acquisition of the Moranbah South tenements will represent a significant milestone for Stanmore’s development portfolio, increasing our resource base and strengthening the platform to deliver on our future growth aspirations," said Marcelo Matos, CEO of Stanmore.

Exxaro Diversification Strategy

The deal is also dependent upon the completion of Exxaro’s acquisition of Anglo American’s 50% stake in the Moranbah South project. Exxaro exercised its pre-emptive rights to acquire Anglo’s 50% interest in the joint venture when Anglo agreed to sell its remaining Australian steelmaking coal assets to Dhilmar in May 2026. Mining Digital has previously reported on Anglo American's divestment of coking coal assets since 2020. 

The sale of the Moranbah South project is aligned with Exxaro’s efforts to diversify the company’s focus away from the thermal coal and metallurgical coal markets, and to place greater focus on the domestic South African market.

Strategic consolidation of coking coal projects in Bowen Basin 

Following the acquisition of the Moranbah South assets, Stanmore will bring together three adjacent projects in the Bowen Basin, Queensland: Stanmore’s existing Eagle Downs and Isaac Downs Extension projects, alongside the Moranbah South project. 

“The significant resources base of Moranbah South is expected to be of premium hard coking coal quality and may potentially be accessed through mine infrastructure at Eagle Downs, should that project be developed,” Marcelo added. 

Stanmore notes that at this early stage of development, Moranbah South is expected to contain premium hard coking coal quality resources, which could potentially be mined using the same mining infrastructure specified for the Eagle Downs Extension project. These tenements now form part of Stanmore’s Isaac Downs Extension project, which is expected to lead to improved output and higher resource qualities.

Meet the partners

Exxaro is a diversified natural resources company that expanded away from its traditional reliance on thermal coal and coking coal mining in South Africa. In March 2026, Exxaro concluded its acquisition of manganese mining assets in the Kalahari Basin from Ntsimbintle Holdings and OMH for ZAR10.6bn.

The company’s renewable energy-focused subsidiary, Cennergi, also began commercial operations at its ZAR1.7bn Lephalale Solar Project in April. The behind-the-meter solar photovoltaic project located next to Exxaro’s Grootegeluk Mine in Lephalale has a 68 MWh capacity. 

Stanmore has operations spanning exploration, production, and the distribution of metallurgical coal. The company is a metallurgical coal producer in Queensland, where its main mining assets include the Poitrel, South Walker Creek and Isaac Plains mines. Stanmore’s South Walker Creek produces up to 7Mtpa of high-quality, low-volatile (low-vol) Pulverised Coal for Injection (PCI), while Poitrel has a capacity of over 4Mtpa, with output comprising approximately 65% HCC and 35% PCI.