Australian steelmaker BlueScope Steel has announced that it has waived its pre-emptive rights to acquire global coking coal producer South32’s Illawarra Metallurgical Coal asset in Australia under its long-term supply agreement with the producer and has offered its support for the acquisition of the asset in question by GEAR M Illawarra Met Coal Pty Ltd, owned by Golden Energy and Resources Pte Ltd (GEAR) and M Resources Pty Ltd.
Under the current agreement due to expire in 2033, South32 committed to supply metallurgical coal from its Appin and Dendrobium mines located in Illawarra to BlueScope. However, after acquiring the assets, GEAR M Illawarra Met Coal Pty Ltd will make some improvements to the agreement and will extend the contract time by a year. Also, both parties will work on the possibility to further expand the supply beyond 2033.
As SteelOrbis reported previously, in March this year South32 had agreed to sell its Illawarra Metallurgical Coal asset to GEAR M Illawarra Met Coal Pty Ltd for $1.65 billion in order to focus on investments in copper and zinc projects.
