Anglo American plc

Anglo American plc is a global mining group that began in Johannesburg in 1917. Anglo American has been reshaping itself: the group announced a merger with Canada’s Teck to form Anglo Teck, a critical minerals company focused on copper, and agreed to sell its Australian steelmaking coal mines to Dhilmar Limited for up to US$3.875 billion.

Registered name

Anglo American plc

Type

Private company (global mining)

Fields funded

Mining, engineering and geology through the businesses that now run its former South African coal and platinum bursaries

Website

angloamerican.com

Phone

+27 11 638 9111

Why the Anglo American bursaries now carry other names

Two bursaries that South African students still search for under the Anglo American name now belong to independent companies. Anglo American demerged its South African thermal coal business in 2021 as Thungela Resources, which runs the former Anglo collieries in Mpumalanga and their bursary. Anglo American Platinum separated from the group and listed on its own as Valterra Platinum, which now runs the platinum bursary.

The change matters when you apply. Adverts, portals and bursary agreements now come from Thungela or Valterra, so an application addressed to Anglo American may confuse the process, and fake adverts sometimes exploit the old name.

The 2027 rounds

Both successor bursaries closed in mid-2026. The Valterra Platinum bursary for 2027 closed on 31 July 2026, and Valterra rejects applications received after the closing date. The Thungela coal bursary closed on 31 August 2026. For 2028 study, expect Valterra to open around May 2027 and Thungela around June 2027.

What students should take from the restructuring

Anglo American’s South African presence continues through businesses such as Kumba Iron Ore and De Beers, but the group’s strategy increasingly points towards copper and other critical minerals. Mining students should follow the companies that actually operate the mines they want to work at, and read each successor company’s bursary terms, including any work-back period, rather than assuming Anglo American’s old conditions still apply.

Readers who want to follow the changes should read the results announcements that Anglo American, Thungela and Valterra Platinum each publish on their own websites. The announcements name the operations each company controls, which tells you which company’s bursary covers the mine near your community.

Mining students can compare these bursaries with other operators on our mining engineering bursaries page and the De Beers bursary guide.