The diversified miner said it had "achieved its first longwall shear of steelmaking metallurgical coal on schedule and on budget, marking the project's final stages of construction and commissioning".

Aquila, which cost A$226 million to develop, will produce about 5 million tonnes per year of high-quality coking coal. Production from Aquila will increase the life of Anglo's Capcoal underground operations by seven years after its nearby Grasstree mine reached the end of its life in recent weeks.

While Anglo has moved away from thermal coal by spinning off its South African assets into Thungela Resources, it remains committed to coking coal in Australia for the time being.

It is not hard to see why with coking coal prices up 160% versus this time last year. UK broker SP Angel quoted coking coal swap Australia FOB at US$406.0/t on Wednesday morning.