Shock and ore - Anglo sale would strip the jewel from South Africa's crown

The world's largest mining company has a problem. Australia's BHP has set out its intention to snap up the rival miner Anglo American in a multibillion-pound deal that would reshape the global industry.

- Jillian Ambrose

Its proposed £31bn ($39bn) takeover plan has already been rebuffed as a lowball offer that undervalues the company. But Anglo's deep roots in South Africa could be a far more sensitive issue to address.

Africa's most advanced economy was built on mining. For more than 150 years since the first discovery of diamonds, gold and coal, the industry has remained South Africa's economic lifeblood. Today it is the world's fifth largest producer of coal and diamonds and the 10th largest producer of gold.

As a result, Anglo American has held a role at the centre of South Africa's fortunes, affording the company enormous soft power in the country's economic and political development. In return, South Africa's government is Anglo's largest shareholder, with a 7% stake held via its Public Investment Corporation. A takeover would in effect strip South Africa of a 100-year bond with one of the world's biggest companies.