Glencore, Bloomfield buy Vale coal mine in Australia

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Global mining and trading firm Glencore Plc (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) and Australia's Bloomfield Group agreed to acquire Vale's Integra coal mine in Australia for undisclosed terms, the buyers said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

The mine has been in care and maintenance since July 2014, when Vale said low coal prices meant keeping it open was no longer sustainable. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is the second coal mine Vale has sold this month, as it continues to divest non-core assets.

The Integra complex, located in New South Wales in eastern Australia, neighbors separate coal assets owned by Bloomfield and Glencore. It produced about 4.5 million tonnes of coal per year from both its underground and open cut mine before it was shut.

The mine produces both metallurgical coal used in steelmaking and thermal, or "steam" coal, used to generate electricity.

Under the deal Glencore will acquire Integra's underground operations while Bloomfield will get the open cut mine and the wash plant and rail loop facilities.

Vale owns 61.5 percent of Integra with the rest of the mine owned by a group of Asian manufacturers, steelmakers and power companies, including Japan's Toyota Industries Corp, South Korean steelmaker Posco (KSE: 005490.KS - news) and Japanese steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc.

The transaction is expected to close in the next few weeks, the statement said.

Vale refused to comment specifically on the deal but said it was part of a strategy to focus on world-class assets able to produce large volumes and where costs could be reduced to competitive levels. (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)