Vale sells Integra coal mine in Australia to Glencore and Bloomfield

The Integra coal mine complex, located in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, includes an open-pit mine and an underground operation. (Image courtesy of Vale)

Brazilian mining giant Vale (NYSE:VALE) has sold its second Australian coal mine in a month to Bloomfield Group and Glencore.

The Integra coal mine complex, located in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, has been on “care and maintenance” for about a year, as Vale decided the operation was not economically viable.

The sale follows last month’s touted deal with Stanmore Coal, which bought the Rio de Janeiro-based company’s Isaac Plains coking and thermal coal mine for just a dollar, after the project was valued at $613 million only three years ago.

The divestment of Isaac Plains and the closing and now sale of Integra Coal has led to a 7.2% reduction in Vale’s total coal output, as reflected in the company’s results for the first half of 2015.

Now, about 65% of the miner’s coal output will be generated by Vale’s flagship Moatize project in Mozambique.