The ratings on U.K.-based mining group Anglo American PLC (Anglo) reflect its above-average business profile as a global, diversified mining, and natural resource group and its conservative financial profile. As the world's second-largest mining group--behind BHP Billiton PLC--Anglo benefits from very strong market positions in a large number of capital-intensive and cyclical extractive industries including platinum, diamonds, and coal. These strong positive credit features are somewhat mitigated, however, by an evolving future strategy, several issues facing mining companies in South Africa (such as increasing royalties, black empowerment, and HIV-related issues), a general issue in the industry of rising costs, and the large minorities that Anglo has in some of its key subsidiaries (platinum and diamonds in particular). The group had,
