India’s JSW Steel Limited is in talks to pick up an equity stake in a coal mine owned by Whitehaven Coal, Australia, industry sources said on Monday, February 19.
According to the sources, the Indian company was looking to pick up a 20 percent equity stake in Blackwater coal mine in central Queensland owned by Whitehaven Coal, at a transaction value in the region of $1 billion.
Whitehaven Coal had been looking for an international partner to develop and Blackwater coal mine and, if talks were successful with JSW Steel Limited, a formal deal could be clinched as early as March 2024.
However, the company has not made any official statement. Last year, JSW Steel had tried to acquire a 40 percent equity stake in the coal business of Teck Resources, Canada, but the deal fell through following the souring of Indian-Canadian diplomatic relations.