Rio Tinto has completed the sale of most of its Australian coal mines to Yancoal in a deal worth $2.69 billion, the company announced on Friday. The agreement stipulates Rio Tinto will receive $2.45 billion in cash for its Coal & Allied business, while the remaining $240 billion will be paid through guaranteed royalties.
Yancoal, whose majority ownership is held by China's Yanzhou Coal Mining, will take control of Rio Tinto's coal business in Hunter Valley, New South Wales, effective immediately. Due to the sale of its coal assets in Australia, Rio Tinto has revised its thermal coal production for 2017 downwards from 17-18 million tonnes to 13-14 million tonnes.
Rio Tinto had previously rejected Glencore's offer to purchase the Australian thermal coal mines and opted to sell to Yancoal instead.
