July 1 Reuters Shares in Anglo American slid 3 on Monday after the miner suspended production at its Grosvenor steelmaking coal mine in Australia following an underground fire that broke out over the weekend.

Anglo American said on Sunday it was battling an underground fire at the mine in Australia39;s Queensland state after a blaze ignited there on Saturday.

We believe this incident could have negative implications for the timing and execution of Anglo39;s corporate restructuring plan and therefore future potential corporate outcomes for Anglo, JP Morgan analysts wrote in a note.

Other analysts said the suspension could delay the sale of Anglo39;s coal assets and hit its valuation as the Australian metallurgical coal assets were the ones the market was expecting management to be able to divest most quickly.

According to analysts at Jefferies, Grosvenor accounts for about 30 of the 4.5 billion value the brokerage attributes to Anglo39;s steelmaking coal business.

The Londonlisted miner had in May outlined a plan to divest less profitable assets and focus on expanding copper output after BHP39;s failed attempt to takeover the company.

Anglo shares underperformed the wider FTSE 100 index in early Monday trade. They were the biggest percentage losers on the London bluechip index.

Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee

Source Reuters