Miners must ‘get their act together’ on safety after dam tragedy says top investor

The mining industry will have a “come to Jesus moment” after the Vale dam disaster and must work together to improve safety, one of the UK’s top mining investors has said.

Anglo Pacific boss Julian Treger said miners must ensure the tragedy, which is thought to have killed over 300, is not repeated.

“The sector [must] get its act together, otherwise people are going to just dismiss it as being irresponsible,” he told City PM

Perversely, Treger said, the disaster will benefit other miners, including some which Anglo Pacific invests in.

“It’s going to be much more difficult to get planning consent for new mines going forward. So if you have something that’s existing, that will be scarcer.”

He added: "Iron ore prices will be higher […] not that we would have wanted that, but that is a perverse outcome."

The chief executive’s comments came as Anglo Pacific’s stock reached its highest point in nearly five years earlier this week.

Shares in the firm, which provides capital for mining projects, hit a high of 178p on Thursday, 11 per cent up on its Monday close, as a mine it owns a royalty on said 2019 coal production would grow 40 per cent. However, shares lost some of their gains to 170p at close on Friday.

Anglo Pacific claims to be the only London-listed company which focuses on royalties from mining. 

In early February it increased its recommended 2018 dividend by 14 per cent to 8p.