Rio Tinto Limited
(ASX:RIO) has reached a binding agreement for the sale of its Mount Pleasant thermal coal asset to MACH Energy Australia for $US224 million plus royalties.
Mount Pleasant is a large-scale, thermal coal asset in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, with total marketable reserves of 474 million tonnes.
Rio Tinto has now announced or completed US$4.7 billion of divestments since January 2013.
The sale is subject to certain conditions precedent being met, including completion of the restructure of Coal & Allied and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.
Rio Tinto recorded a net profit of $1.04 billion at 30 June 2015.
