Rio Tinto sells Bowen Basin mine for $2.25b

RIO Tinto has sold its last coal assets in the Bowen Basin, finalising the sale of its Kestral mine stake for more than $2 billion overnight Tuesday.

Rio Tinto sells its last remaining mine asset in the Bowen Basin

RIO Tinto has sold its last coal assets in the Bowen Basin, finalising the sale of its Kestral mine stake for more than $2 billion overnight Tuesday.

It continues the mining giant's move out of the coal industry with the sale of its 80 per cent share in the mine for $2.25 billion to private equity manager EMR Capital and Indonesian coal company PT Adaro Energy Tbk.

Should the Australia's Foreign Investment and Review Board and the Queensland Government approve the sale, the agreement will be finalised in the second half of 2018, according to a company statement.

According to Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques, the sale will take the total amount the mining giant earned from sales in the Bowen Basin to $4.15 billion.

"The sale of Kestrel, together with the accounted de-investment of Hail Creek and our undeveloped coal projects, delivers exceptional value to our shareholders and will leave our portfolio stronger and more focused on delivering the highest returns through targeted allocation of capital," Mr Jacques said.

"I would like to thank the many people at Rio Tinto and the communities where we operate, whose hard work and commencement has contributed to the success of the coal business over many years.

"I wish them continued success under new management."

Kestral mine is in the Bowen Basin about 50km north east of Emerald.

The lastest sale comes days after the mining giant announced it would sell its stake in Winchester South undeveloped coal project about 30 kilometres south of Moranbah for $200 million.

Rio Tinto was up three per cent on the London stock exchange overnight.

Originally published as Rio Tinto sells Bowen Basin mine for $2.25b