Glencore reached agreement to acquire an 82 percent interest in Rio Tinto's Hail Creek coal mine and adjacent coal resources, as well as a 71.2 percent interest in the Valeria coal resource in central Queensland for $1.7 billion, Glencore announced on Tuesday.
Three different international companies currently own the remaining 18 percent stake in Hail Creek, which is located 120 kilometers southwest of Mackay.
In 2017, the mine produced about 9.4 million tons of coal for export.
'Hail Creek is a large-scale, long-life and low-cost mine producing two-thirds premium quality hard coking coal and one-third thermal coal for export,' the company said.
The Valeria thermal coal deposit is located 265 kilometers west of Rockhampton.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018.
'Our Australian coal business managed the production of more than 87 million tons of saleable coal last year from our 17 operational mines in Queensland and New South Wales,' the company said.
By Huseyin Erdogan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr