According to the terms of the investment, the company would have to further invest $50 million in M Res NSW towards deferred consideration payable in 2030.

In its regulatory filing, the company mentioned that raw material security and cost optimisation were key strategic priorities, and this acquisition was a step forward in achieving these objectives.

M Res NSW is owned by Matthew Latimore, the owner of M Resources Pty Ltd (M Resources), an international mining, investment, marketing, and trading company headquartered in Australia.

M Res NSW owns a 30 per cent interest in Golden M NSW Pty Ltd (Golden M), the proposed ultimate owner of Illawarra Coal Holdings Pty Ltd (Illawarra Metallurgical Coal), whose operations consist of the Appin and Dendrobium coking coal mines and associated infrastructure in New South Wales, Australia.

These mines have total marketable reserves of 99 million tonnes (mt) of prime hard coking coal and have produced, on average, 6.5 mtpa over the past five years.

The remaining 70 per cent interest in Golden M, the filing mentioned, is held by Golden Investments (Australia) III Pte Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Golden Energy and Resources Pte Ltd (GEAR).

Coking coal is a key raw material input for steelmaking. Indian steelmakers’ coking coal requirements are mostly met through imports.

JSW Steel, which has a target of achieving a steelmaking capacity of 50 mt by 2030, has been beefing up raw material security.

In May, the company’s board approved the acquisition of Minas de Revuboe Limitada (MDR), which owns a pre-development stage premium hard coking coal mine project in the Moatize Basin of Tete Province in Mozambique.

First Published: Aug 12 2024 | 7:50 PM IST