Mumbai: JSW Group has joined the race to acquire two coking coal mines from Australia’s BHP Group in a potential $1.5-2 billion deal as the Indian steelmaker looks for resources to fire its blast furnaces, said people in the know.
The Daunia and Faunus mines, with 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity, in Queensland are being sold by BHP following a 32% drop in half-year profit, dissatisfaction with the state’s coal royalty hike, along with ESG (environmental, social, governance) concerns. Of the 20 MTPA, 15-16 MTPA is coking coal used for steel making while the rest is thermal coal.
JSW is the only Indian company in the fray and will be competing with global steel trading and mining companies such as Nippon Steel,
