Idemitsu Kosan announces the sale of its stake in the Ensham Coal Mine
Idemitsu Kosan announces the sale of its stake in the Ensham coal mine to Sungela Pty Ltd, a consortium of Thungela Resources Limited (75%), Mayfair Corporations Group Pty Ltd (12.5%) and Audley Energy Limited (12.5%).
Sungela will continue the operation of the Ensham mine and is committed to the longer term overall site rehabilitation obligations.
Chief Executive Officer, Steve Kovac said, “We remain committed to continuing to support Ensham’s workforce, the broader Idemitsu workforce and the Central Highlands community through the ownership transition process.”
“Idemitsu takes its environmental obligations very seriously, as evidenced by Ensham mines extensive rehabilitation program which achieved a major rehabilitation milestone in 2022, transforming a record amount of land used for open cut mining back to natural and productive land. This resulted in Ensham achieving the largest certified area of progressive rehabilitation in an open cut mine in Queensland. The commitment by Sungela to continue this rehabilitation work and meet the long term obligations at the site has been a key consideration in the transaction,” he said.
Idemitsu Australia will continue to responsibly operate our Boggabri coal mine in New South Wales, supplying high quality metallurgical and thermal coal products to export markets in Japan and globally.
Mr Kovac said “Idemitsu has set a global target to be carbon neutral by 2050 and our operations will evolve accordingly as we seek to diversify and grow our renewable energy and critical minerals interests. In the past 12 months, Idemitsu Australia has made great strides towards our sustainability targets and diversifying our portfolio.
“We have recently signed a funding agreement with the NSW Government’s EnergyCo, along with our joint venture partners AGL, for the development of a pumped hydro electricity generation development on the site of the now decommissioned Muswellbrook mine. This is in addition to the solar projects at our Boggabri and Muswellbrook sites, as well as the green hydrogen and ammonia export study with the Port of Newcastle and Macquarie Group, and the recently announced joint study into green ammonia production at Abbot Point with the Queensland Government and CS Energy.
“Idemitsu Australia is also actively pursuing interests in critical minerals to contribute the essential materials required for the global energy transition. This is demonstrated through our recent investments in Red Dirt Metals (lithium), Critical Minerals Group (vanadium) and Vecco Group (vanadium and electrolyte manufacture),” he said.
About Sungela Pty Ltd:
Sungela is a joint venture company formed by Thungela, Mayfair, and Audley Energy Limited, in connection with the transaction.
Overview of Thungela: Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company was separated from Anglo American, a UK resources company, through a demerger process. The company operates seven thermal coal mines in South Africa. Listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. https://www.thungela.com/
Overview of Mayfair: A private resources company located in Brisbane, Australia. Mayfair invests in operating and advanced exploration projects in bulk commodities, precious, base, strategic metals and other critical minerals. Mayfair’s senior management team has over 100 years’ experience in managing and financing metal and natural resource mining operations in Australia, North and South America. Mayfair currently has a diversified portfolio of exploration projects in coal, vanadium, IOCG gold and copper assets.
Overview of Audley Capital: A Switzerland-based investment group focused on long-term investment opportunities in the mining and metals sector. Audley concentrates on acquiring non-core producing assets from established mining and metals companies, deploying “best-in-class” management to optimise efficiency and unlock value.
KPMG Corporate Finance acted as Lead Financial Advisor to Idemitsu Australia. Clayton Utz acted as legal advisor to Idemitsu Australia.