Commodities multinational Glencore will sell its Rolleston thermal coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, as part of its ongoing portfolio reorganisation and debt paydown program.
Glencore owns the Rolleston mine together with joint venture partners Itochu and Sumitomo.
It said the decision to sell was “part of Glencore’s ongoing program to optimise its portfolio and redeploy capital into other opportunities,” in an announcement dated August 28.
Rolleston produced 13.3 million tonnes of saleable coal in 2016, out of Glencore’s total managed production of roughly 93 million tonnes.
Glencore describes Rolleston as “an established, stable and profitable asset with a long mine life … an experienced management team and a highly skilled workforce”.
Rolleston also recently received approval from the Queensland and Federal Governments to continue mine life to beyond 2040.
Merrill Lynch has been appointed as the sole financial adviser for the sale.
“The Rolleston mine is a high quality asset that offers potential buyers the opportunity to gain a strong foothold – or significantly increase their position – in the Australian and Queensland coal industry,” Glencore said.
“We will only sell the Rolleston mine if we consider that an offer delivers value for our shareholders. It will be business as usual at the mine as we work through the sale process.”