The Australian-British multinational mining and metals corporation Rio Tinto has agreed to sell its Kestrel underground coal mine operations in the Bowen Basin in Queensland (Australia) to the private equity company EMR Capital and Indonesia’s coal producer PT Adaro Energy, for a total consideration of US$2.25bn. Rio Tinto's entire 80% interest in the facility will be transferred to the two companies once all regulatory approvals are obtained in the second half of 2018.
The Kestrel mine started to produce coal in mid-2013. In 2017, it produced 5.1 Mt of saleable coal, of which 4.25 Mt of hard coking coal and 0.84 Mt of thermal coal. As of December 2017, its marketable reserves stood at 146 Mt while its resources were estimated at 241 Mt. The Bowen Basin in Queensland is claimed to be one of the world's top metallurgical coal producing regions.
Earlier in March 2018, Rio Tinto sold the Hail Creek coal mine and the Valeria coal development project to the Anglo–Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company Glencore for a total consideration of US$1.7bn, including both Rio Tinto's 82% operating stake in the Hail Creek mine and a 71.2% interest in the Valeria coal project. This brings the recent divestments of Rio Tinto's coal assets in Queensland to US$4.15bn.