The Australian mining company Straits Resources Ltd said it’s been approached to sell its remaining AUD 489 million share in an Indonesian coal miner.

Mr Milan Jerkovic chief executive officer of Straits Resources said that Straits is considering spinning off its effective 18.2% stake in Straits Asia Resources Ltd to concentrate on its copper and gold assets.

The company without identifying the potential buyers. Mr Jerkovic said that interest in Straits Asia, which produced 10.5 million tonnes of energy coal last year, has been driven by India’s growing coal demand as its electricity use increases. Thermal coal prices, set annually, rose 40% this year to AUD 98 a tonne.

Mr Jerkovic said that “We have been approached by a number of different parties.” He expects the tidy up of the stake to be complete within 12 months. Divesting the coal assets will better reflect the value of Straits Resources’s producing and exploration copper assets in Australia.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)