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Friday, August 12, 2011

Cockatoo Coal puts Taabinga project in Queensland up for sale


Friday, 12 Aug 2011

It is reported that Australian miner Cockatoo Coal has put its Taabinga project in Queensland up for sale, in the latest sign deal flow in the coal sector is accelerating.

Sydney based Cockatoo, one of a handful of listed Australian companies with producing coal mines, has appointed advisory firm RFC Corporate Finance to handle the sale of the thermal coal project, which has an estimated 252 million tonnes of undeveloped resources.

Miners with Australian coal deposits are seeking to cash in on high asset valuations and rising interest from overseas buyers, particularly emerging economies such as China and India that need to ramp up coal imports to cover a growing supply gap at home.

Thermal coal is used to generate electricity, while coking coal is used in steel production and is sought after by rapidly industrializing nations.

In August 2011, China's Yanzhou Coal Mining agreed to buy Syntech Resources, which operates a thermal coal mine in Queensland's Surat Basin. It also acquired some exploration licenses for AUD 202.5 million.

In earlier signs of industry consolidation, Rio Tinto and Mitsubishi launched a joint offer to take full control of Coal & Allied Industries, valuing the coal miner at AUD 10.6 billion. The deal echoed Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal's recent AUD 4.7bn bid for Macarthur Coal.

Cockatoo Coal aims to attract bidders for the Taabinga project by highlighting its potential to produce thermal coal for export. The deposit is close to an existing rail line that runs to Gladstone, where a consortium of miners proposes to build the Wiggins Island coal terminal.

Taabinga coal could be exported from 2016.

(sourced TheAustralian)

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