Gold miner Newmont Mining is putting a final polish to the sale of its Queensland coal assets, with two overseas suitors vying for a resource estimated at more than 1.2 billion tonnes of thermal coal.

A person familiar with the matter told Deal Journal Australia Newmont is in advanced talks with two parties interested in buying the undeveloped Felton East/West and Lochbar/Bringalily South tenements in the Clarence-Moreton Basin.

Newmont the world’s second largest gold miner by output after Barrick Gold hopes to conclude a deal within the first half of the year.

Newmont's tenements in the Clarence-Moreton Basin lie about 10km from a rail line with access to Gladstone and Brisbane, and contain thermal coal that could be developed for export if capacity at either port becomes available.

The bituminous coal is low in sulphur and has an energy content of about 6000 kilocalories per kilogram after washing. Thermal coal is chiefly used to generate electricity.

(Sourced from www.theaustralian.com.au)