Jindal Steel & Power acquires South Africa's Kiepersol coal mine: report

Jindal Steel & Power, part of the Jindal Group, has acquired the Kiepersol thermal coal mine in South Africa, reports citing industry sources said.

The purchase of Kiepersol, an underground mine which produces mid-low volatile thermal coal used mostly for power generation, is the first completed purchase of a coal mine in South Africa by an Indian entity, the reports said.

Jindal clinched the deal by acquiring stakes owned by its private shareholders of the mine for an undisclosed price. The acquisition was completed and payment made in June, reports said.

The mine was originally developed by Duiker, which sold its mines to Xstrata.

With limited domestic production and availability of thermal quality coal, Indian companies, including state-owned Coal India Ltd, have been trying to acquire assets in South Africa and elsewhere in the African continent.
 
The energy content of Kiepersol's coal is comparable to standard South African RB1 coal but the volatile range is lower. Jindal is expected to use the coal for power generation.

Jindal Steel and Power had reported a 24 per cent rise in its profit after tax at Rs1,536.48 crore for the financial year ended 31 March 2009, compared to Rs1,236.96 crore in the previous year.

Net sales were up 42 per cent at Rs7,646.46 crore (Rs5,394.35 crore). The company had declared a final dividend of 550 per cent Rs5.50 for each share of Re1 for the year.