The purchase of Australian coal mines and community infrastructure by a little-known international mining company is causing concern among workers and Queensland residents.On Monday Dhilmar Ltd acquired Anglo American's five steel making coal mines and extensive community infrastructure in a deal worth up to $5.43 billion.The UK-registered company's only current mining operation is the Eleonore gold mine in Canada, which it purchased from Newmont in November 2024.Anglo American said in a statement that Dhilmar's leadership had "considerable experience" operating mining assets, including steelmaking coal.Dhilmar Ltd has been contacted for comment.Anglo American has operated Bowen Basin coal mines for a quarter of a century. (Supplied: Anglo American)'Collective apprehension'The five mines are among more than 30 active coal mines in the Isaac region west of Mackay and Rockhampton.Isaac Mayor Kelly Vea Vea said there was "collective apprehension" in the community because Dhilmar had not previously operated a coal mine."For any of us that have loved ones and friends that work in these mines or work underground, particularly Moranbah North and Grosvenor, there'll never not be any sort of cautiousness and apprehension about who operates those," she said.Kelly Vea Vea is concerned about what the sale will mean for the community. (ABC Tropical North: Liam O'Connell)Neither mine is operating at full production capacity following separate safety incidents relating to high gas levels in 2024 and 2025."I think that this particular sale is something that will make people take stock of their lives and work out whether or not this is going to be the career for them," Cr Vea Vea said.Dhilmar is directed by Alexander Ramlie, an Indonesian billionaire ranked 35th on Forbes Indonesia's 50 Richest List for 2025.He is also the commissioner of Amman Mineral Internasional, which owns Batu Hijau, one of the largest copper and gold mines in Indonesia.According to Amman's website Mr Ramlie has previously worked as chief executive officer at a metallurgical coal mine in Borneo and has held other positions on coal mine boards.Social investmentThe exit of Anglo American after almost 25 years in the central Queensland community goes beyond the transfer of mining leases to "a huge social investment portfolio".Anglo American provides a range of services to the Middlemount community, including childcare and a shopping centre. (Supplied: Isaac Regional Council)"Predominantly, Middlemount is owned and run by Anglo American and they own a majority of the houses, the run the commercial spaces, they own over 300 houses there," Cr Vea Vea said."They are the key deliverers in terms of community services, assets, water, childcare."She said she was seeking a meeting with Dhilmar to gauge the company's appetite to support the community.Amanda Raymond is president of Moranbah Arts, which recently received funding from Anglo to build a stage in a community hall.Amanda Raymond says "change is always frightening". (ABC Tropical North: Liam O'Connell)She said she was concerned any change in the workforce and community investment would affect volunteering and support for the arts."Any change is always a frightening thing for people because we're worried if people move out of town, we lose our community," Ms Raymond said.Alan Slack has lived in Moranbah "on and off" for 15 years said he had not heard of Dhilmar before the sale, and initially confused it with Dilmah Tea.Alan Slack hopes the sale will provide more certainty for workers. (ABC Tropical North: Liam O'Connell)He said he hoped the sale would give Anglo workers some certainty about their future after the collapse of an earlier sale to Peabody Energy."It's been a bit of a turbulent time for them, so it's good for them to get some certainty, hopefully the sale goes through," Mr Slack said."There's some good coal in the region still, and I think there's still many, many years to go for coal in this region."John Rolfe, a professor in regional economic development at the University of Queensland, said Bowen Basin communities had been "lucky" to live alongside major coal companies with a sense of corporate citizenship."The risk with the new owner is always that there might not be quite the same support for regional areas," he said."But I think the positives are that the mines are not being broken up and sold to smaller companies that may not have the resources to be able to maintain them."