JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Shareholders will not be permitted to attend this year’s annual general meeting (AGM) of Anglo American because of Covid-19 restrictions – but they have been invited to submit questions in advance for answering at the AGM.

The London- and Johannesburg-listed diversified mining company said in a stock exchange news service announcement on Tuesday that the UK government's measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus were announced after the company had already set May 5 as its AGM date.

In order to comply, this year’s AGM would be convened with the minimum necessary quorum of two shareholders.

The AGM notice emphasised the importance of shareholders casting their AGM votes as early as possible, which could be done by completing a proxy form or submitting proxy instructions electronically.

Shareholders were encouraged to appoint the ‘chairperson of the meeting’ as a proxy, to vote on their behalf.

Anglo has a primary listing on the main market in London and secondary listings on the Johannesburg, Botswana, Namibia and SIX Swiss exchanges.

It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron-ore and metallurgical and thermal coal.