Rio Tinto has completed the sale of its remaining coal assets in Queensland (Australia) for AUS$3.95 billion.
The transactions include the sale of Rio Tinto’s interests in the Hail Creek coal mine and Valeria coal development project to Glencore for AUS$1.7 billion, and its interest in the Kestrel underground coal mine to a consortium comprising private equity manager EMR Capital and PT Adaro Energy Tbk for AUS$2.25 billion.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive J-S Jacques said: “The sale of our remaining Australian coal assets delivers exceptional value to our shareholders. Once again, I would like to thank the many people across Rio Tinto and the communities in which we operate who have contributed to the coal business. I wish them continued success under new ownership.”
2018 guidance and tax
To reflect the sale of these assets, 2018 production guidance is updated to 4.0 million t of hard metallurgical coal and 2.5 million t of thermal coal.
Estimated tax payable on the transactions is in the order of AUS$1 billion.