ICVL buys Rio Tinto's coal assets in Mozambique for $50 mn

International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd (ICVL) has signed an agreement to buy Rio Tinto’s coal assets in Mozambique for $50 million, according to a PTI report. Rio Tinto had bought these assets as part of acquisition of Riversdale Mining Limited in 2011.
 
ICVL - a joint venture company of Steel Authority of India, Coal India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam and NMDC - will buy the Tete East project and the Benga mine, which will give it captive coal mines. The acquisition will be the first of ICVL since its inception in 2009.
 
The coal resource will become a long term captive source of a critical raw material in steel making in geographical proximity to India. The coal mine and assets are located strategically in the prime coking coal bearing region of the Moatize Coal Basin which is stated to be the second largest coal basin in the world after the Bowen Basin in Australia.
 
C S Verma, Chairman, SAIL & ICVL, said, "The Mozambique acquisition by ICVL is a significant and historic development towards assuring long-term coking coal security as Indian steel companies need higher input of raw material to fuel their growth."
 
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014. During the transition to the new owner, Rio Tinto will continue to manage the mine to the highest safety and environmental standards.