Jakarta. Indonesia conglomerate Salim Group has agreed to buy a coal mine in Australia from gold miner Rio Tinto for $224 million plus royalties, the miner said in a statement on Wednesday.
Rio Tinto sold its assets in Mount Pleasant thermal coal to MACH Energy Australia, as part of the company’s divestment of assets around the world. MACH Energy Australia is an entity controlled by Indonesian billionaire Anthoni Salim, according to a report from Reuters.
MACH Energy would pay royalties only when the coal price exceeds $72.5 per metric ton. The current price for Australian thermal coal is $47.40, according to Reuters.
“We believe Mount Pleasant can have a very positive future under its new owners with different priorities for development and capital allocation,” Jean-Sébastien Jacques, Rio Tinto Copper & Coal chief executive, said in the statement.
Located in Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Mount Pleasant is estimated to contain total marketable reserves of 474 million metric tons.
Anthoni Salim is the third richest man in Indonesia according to GlobeAsia and his Salim Group controls assets including instant noodle maker Indofood Sukses Makmur, agribusiness units Indofood Agri Resources and car manufacturer distributor Indomobil Sukses Internasional.