Rio Tinto sells Mozambique coal assets

Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique. Copyright © 2014 Rio Tinto.

Rio Tinto is to cut its losses and sell its Mozambique coal assets to a consortium of Indian buyers for US$50 million, the company said in a statement today. The world’s second largest miner originally bought the assets with the purchase of Riversdale Mining for US$3.7 billion in 2011.

Since then, the development of the Benga coal mine in Mozambique’s Tete Province has been hit by infrastructure constraints and a cut to recoverable reserves, resulting in a US$3 billion write down on the investment last year.

The assets will be bought by Indian Coal Ventures (ICVL), a joint-venture of state-owned Indian companies set up to buy coal mines and assets abroad to help meet India’s growing coal demand.

Written by Jonathan Rowland

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/30072014/world-coal-rio-tinto-sells-mozambique-coal-assets-coal1146/