Shandong Province-based Chinese mining company Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. has offered $3.79 billion for Australian miner Whitehaven Coal, as China seeks increased resources overseas to meet burgeoning domestic demand.
Australia's coal reserves are of high quality and the country's laws and facilities are attractive to Chinese investors, the China Daily newspaper quoted Yanzhou Coal Mining board secretary Zhang Baocai as saying.
According to Whitehaven Coal's annual report, the company mainly produces low ash thermal coal. It has reserves of 1.7485 billion mt, of which 365.7 million mt are minable.