secures a new contract to sell coal
Rio Tinto, Xstrata in A$688m coal deal Wednesday Feb 1 20:48 AEDT
Rio Tinto Ltd and rival Xstrata plc have won separate tenders to sell more than 8 million tonnes of thermal coal to the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission, with a combined value of around A$688 million.
The coal will be mined from collieries operated by Xstrata and Rio Tinto subsidiary Coal and Allied Industries Ltd in NSW for deliveries between March 20, 2006 and August 23, 2007, both companies said.
Australian Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane, who visited Mexico last week to discuss energy-related issues, in a statement put a value of A$688 million on the tenders.
Rio Tinto and Xstrata declined to disclose financial details of the tenders.
"This deal represents diversification for Coal and Allied into Mexico, which is a healthy and robust new market," a Coal and Allied spokeswoman said.
Coal and Allied will ship 4.29 million over the period and Xstrata about 4.5 million to the Petacalco power plant in Mexico's Guerrero state.
RIO Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
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