Rio Tinto Exits Mozambique Coal Year After $3B Writedown
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Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-biggest mining company, drew a line under one of its most disastrous deals by offloading its Mozambique coal assets for $50 million.
The London-based company bought the assets as part of the A$3.9 billion ($3.7 billion) purchase of Riversdale Mining Ltd. in 2011, writing them down by $3 billion last year. The charge, part of $14 billion in writedowns on assets including the $38 billion purchase of Alcan Inc. in 2007, also led to the departure of former Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese.