Anglo American is still working on a final investment decision (FID) on the Woodsmith polyhalite mine, UK.

Speaking at the company’s Q2 earnings call (31 July), John Heasley Anglo American Plc, Chief Financial Officer said the company had learned a lot from the service shaft being sunk into the Sherwood Sandstone strata. “These learnings and are setting us up very well to continue to sink one of the two main shafts,” said Heasley.

He added that the company was continuing to progress the three conditions that would need to be met before an FID was made. These are a feasibility study with sufficient information from the sandstone strata. “The second condition is a clear pathway to syndication for value. Finally, the Group’s balance sheet would need to be sufficiently deleveraged,” the company spelled out in its 1H 2025 results report.

Heasley reiterated that the company was working towards the three conditions and said discussions were going well with a number of strategic partners. “While Woodsmith remains a compelling opportunity and has the potential to be a flagship asset in this portfolio, we only see these three conditions being fulfilled by 2027 at the earliest,” said Heasley.

The company Redpath Deilmann was contracted to sink both 1.6km deep shafts. In 1H 2025 Anglo American reported that drilling had reached Sherwood Sandstone strata, which is harder than the mudstones the drilling company had been working through previously.

In May 2024 Anglo American announced a slowdown in the Woodsmith project with the workforce reduced by 50%.

When announcing its 1H results to 30 June, the company said: “The expected final design capacity remains c.13 Mtpa, subject to ongoing studies and approval. Work is also continuing to identify and secure one or more strategic syndication partners for Woodsmith ahead of consideration by the Board for approval and subsequent project ramp-up, anticipated from 2027.”

When discussing the polyhalite that will be mined, with the processed product to be branded as POLY4, Anglo American said the qualities and characteristics fit neatly into the long-term gaps the agricultural industry is facing. “We are continuing progress on our pioneering five-year research project with the International Atomic Energy Agency, an organisation within the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA) announced in 2024, into the beneficial impact polyhalite could have in reducing salt levels in soil – a major factor in the degradation of soil health globally.”

Anglo American is currently executing a portfolio simplification strategy, with the aim of becoming a focused producer of copper and premium iron ore. The company has undergone the demerger of Valterra, its Platinum group metals (PGM) business, in May 2025, retaining a 19.9% stake valued at approximately $2.6 billion that it plans to monetize over time.

The transformation continues with planned divestments of its steelmaking coal assets, nickel operations, and De Beers diamond business.