Brazil-based mining giant Vale has announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its thermal coal mines located in Colombia to CPC S.A.S., an affiliate of Colombian Natural Resources S.A.S. (CNR), a privately held company, for $407 million in cash, subject to regulatory approvals.
Vale said that it is selling its thermal coal mines since thermal coal which is used in power generation is not a part of the company's core business. The miner will focus on its coking coal operations.
In the first quarter of the current year, Vale produced 1.12 million mt of coking coal, the best performance achieved ever in a first quarter, while its thermal coal output decreased by 19.7 percent compared to the previous quarter.