Yancoal wins approval to buy Rio Tinto’s Hunter Valley coal mine

Chinese-controlled Yancoal has won the approval of Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to purchase Rio Tinto's Hunter Valley coal mine involving a $US2.45 billion ($3.2 billion) investment  in New South Wales. Yancoal said the FIRB approval was “a critical milestone”. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2017.

Yancoal said that FIRB had no objections buying Coal & Allied Industries, the Rio Tinto subsidiary which owns majority shares in the Hunter Valley, Mount Thorley and Warkworth coal mines.

Yancoal chief executive officer Reinhold Schmidt commented: “Today’s FIRB approval is a positive step forward for Yancoal, its shareholders and the Hunter Valley, demonstrating the Australian Government’s support for continued investment into the local resources sector.”

{googleAdsense}

“Yancoal remains a key provider of employment, training and investment within NSW and we look forward to continuing to grow our operations.”

The acquisition remains subject to additional conditions, including approval from shareholders of Rio Tinto and Yancoal’s majority owner, Yanzhou Coal Mining.