GUJ acquires Aussie coal mine

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 30 November 2006, 18:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
Mumbai: Gujarat NRE Coke has taken over an Australian company Zelos Resources NL (ZCO). The newly formed company will be known as Gujarat NRE Resources NL (GUJ), where the former has acquired 85 percent stake. GUJ is a resource prospecting company with many licenses to look for metals and minerals in abundance including iron ore, gold, copper and coal in the Tasmanian region of Australia. The listing of GUJ on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) will further strengthen the position of Gujarat NRE Group in Australia. Gujarat NRE is the first Indian company to acquire a coal mine in Australia. It is the largest manufacturer of low ash metallurgical coke in the non-captive sector in India. The takeover came through when Gujarat NRE sold its Avondale Coal Mine in the southern coalfields of NSW, Australia, to Zelos for 170 million shares in Zelos and 130 million options of 20 cents. These shares constitute about 85 per cent of the equity of Zelos. The shareholders of Zelos passed a resolution to this effect recently.