At a time when the world’s biggest mining companies want to sell off assets to focus on their core moneymakers (ahem, iron ore), a coking coal mine in Australia co-owned by BHP Billiton Ltd and Mitsubishi Corp could have a buyer.
According to Reuters, “Australia’s Linc Energy is in very early talks on a deal to buy the Gregory Crinum coal operation in Queensland…the coking coal mine is thought to be worth about $400 million, one analyst said.”
“Analysts have predicted BHP Billiton could garner more than $20 billion from asset sales. The company has flagged that it will divest around 10 assets with analysts speculating those on the block include its stake in the Mount Nimba iron ore project in Southern Guinea and its Nickel West operations,” according to the article.
Meanwhile, MetalMiner’s coking coal price in China dropped significantly on our daily index: On Monday, June 24, the day’s biggest mover was the 3-month price of steel billet, which saw a 6.9 percent decline on the LME to $135.00 per metric ton. The cash price of steel billet dropped by 4.0 percent on the LME to $120.00 per metric ton after holding steady.
But Monday saw the price of Chinese coking coal drift down 1.4 percent after three quiet days. Chinese steel prices were mixed for the day. The price of iron ore 58% fines from India drifted a slight bit lower. Chinese HRC saw little change in its price on Monday.
The US HRC futures contract 3-month price saw little movement at $605.00 per short ton. The US HRC futures contract spot price remained essentially flat at $600.00 per short ton.