Rio Tinto will sell two Queensland coal projects to global mining giant Glencore for $1.7 billion.
The deal involves the sale of Rio's 82 per cent stake in the Hail Creek mine in the northern Bowen Basin and its 71 per cent stake in the undeveloped Valeria project in the central Bowen Basin.
Rio chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said the sale delivers value to the company's shareholders and fits with Rio's strategy of strengthening its portfolio and focusing on high returns.
"We expect that Hail Creek will continue to perform strongly under its new owner, securing long-term jobs and continuing its contribution to the state of Queensland," he said in a statement.
The deal needs to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board, the Queensland government and foreign competition authorities.
If those approvals are received, Rio expects the sale to be completed in the second half of 2018.
The miner also said it expects to pay income tax of an estimated $300 million in the proceeds of the sale.
Rio is looking at selling its remaining coal assets, and it said it will update the market on this process as appropriate.
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