Rio Tinto Struggling to Sell Stake in Clermont Coal Mine

The Wall Street Journal reported that talks regarding the sale of Rio Tinto plc’s (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) stake in the Queensland-based Clermont coal mine have stalled after bids from three different companies did not meet the mining giant’s expectations.

As quoted in the market news:

Adani Mining Pty. Ltd., the Australian unit of India’s Adani Enterprises Ltd., offered less than 850 million Australian dollars (US$792 million) for Rio Tinto’s stake in the Clermont mine in Queensland state, one of the people said.

Galena Private Equity Resource Fund also bid less than A$850 million for the 50.1% stake in the mine, which produces mostly coal for use in power generation, another person said. The fund is managed by Galena Asset Management, a subsidiary of Dutch trading house Trafigura Beheer BV.

New Hope Corp., one of Australia’s largest coal miners, also made an offer, a third person said. The company has more than A$1.2 billion in cash and term deposits on its balance sheet, largely compiled through the sale of its stake in coal-seam-gas producer Arrow Energy Ltd. in 2010.

Click here to read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.