Anglo American will sell its Queensland coking coal assets and exit the diamond, platinum and nickel industries under a bold plan to concentrate on its strengths and fend off BHP’s $64.4 billion takeover bid.

Fresh from rejecting a 15 per cent improvement in BHP’s all-scrip takeover offer, Anglo chief executive Duncan Wanblad unveiled a plan to produce only copper, iron ore and crop nutrients, labelling his strategy “the most radical changes” to Anglo in decades.