Monnet Ispat to buy coking coal mine in Colombia

Monnet Ispat and Energy on Wednesday said it is in talks to acquire a coking coal mine in Colombia which may cost it anything between $50-75 million (Rs 277-416 crore).

The proposed acquisition, which would be its second overseas buyout after one in Indonesia, is intended at meeting its captive requirement, Monnet Ispat and Energy CMD Sandeep Jajodia said.

"We are in talks with the company [in Colombia]. Talks are going on, we hope to close the deal in about month's time. This is essentially a coking coal mine which we require for our own captive needs," he said.

"The mine has proven reserves of 25 million tonnes and some indicative reserves, which need to get proven, which can up to another 25-30 million tonnes. So overall, it could end up having a 50 million tonnes capacity," Jajodia added. About the likely acquisition cost, he said, "It will be about $1-1.5 times of the reserves."