Rio Tinto lifts coal reserve estimates in Hunter Valley

28th Nov 2014 07:37

Rio Tinto has significantly increased its estimate for managed thermal coal reserves and resources in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia.After analysing historic data and updating different resource estimation methods, Rio Tinto Coal Australia has lifted its ore reserves estimate in the Hunter Valley by 546m tonnes (mt) from 1,331mt to 1,877mt.The total mineral resources estimate, excluding ore reserves, has been raised by 369mt from 2,349mt to 2,718mt."The coal assets managed by Coal & Allied in the Hunter Valley are truly world class and offer a large, contiguous footprint within the most attractive sections of the coal district," said the division's managing director Chris Salisbury."This discovery of greater coal reserves and resources is the result of more than a year's work and forms part of our wider efforts to deliver greater value to our shareholders. We continue to examine our asset base for further opportunities," he said.