Whitehaven lurks on the register at Rinehart-backed rare earth hopeful

Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Nov 13, 2023 – 1.15pm

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It’s not just Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting that seems keen on Brazilian Rare Earths, the South American resources play that is counting down the days to a $314 million listing on the ASX. Whitehaven Coal, one of the country’s largest coal miners, is lurking on the register, sources say.

What Whitehaven, which has just secured a major deal to acquire two metallurgical coal mines from BHP, wants with a Brazil-focused rare earths miner is not clear. But, as a prospectus obtained by Street Talk makes clear, the minnow is thinking big. It will use the proceeds of a $50 million capital raise to buy a “high advanced” exploration project from Rio Tinto.

Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones. Email Sarah at sarah.thompson@afr.com

Kanika Sood is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column. Email Kanika at kanika.sood@afr.com.au

Emma Rapaport is a co-editor of the Street Talk column. Prior to that, she was a markets reporter at The Australian Financial Review. Connect with Emma on Twitter. Email Emma at emma.rapaport@afr.com