Adani mulled bid for BHP’s Mount Arthur

India-based commodity trading company, Adani Group, ran the rule over the Mount Arthur thermal coalmining operations.

It appears Nathan Tinkler is not the only big name to have assessed BHP’s $3bn Mount Arthur coalmining operation for an acquisition last year. Another was Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.

It is understood that Mr Adani’s India-based commodity trading company, Adani Group, ran the rule over the Mount Arthur thermal coalmining operations in NSW last year.

However, it opted to focus on its current commitment in Australia — the controversial Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin.

Carmichael is one of the largest coal mines in the world and has been subject to a court challenge over the federal government’s decision to approve the mine over environmental concerns.

BHP has now hired Goldman Sachs to work on a demerger of its coal assets after earlier working with Macquarie Capital to find a buyer for Mount Arthur, which analysts at Shaw and Partners estimate to be worth $3.224bn. Other parties that have considered buying the mine include China’s Yancoal, Swiss trader Glencore and a Southeast Asian consortium.

However, Glencore’s offer was understood to be too low, Yancoal would struggle to gain foreign investment approval from the government and some private equity firms have been knocked back as buyers due to concerns about their ability to afford the mine’s remediation work.