Energy and metals group South32 is continuing to look at opportunities to invest in its thermal coal mines, including in SA, but not for acquisitions in the sector, CEO Graham Kerr said on Thursday. South32, which was spun out of BHP Billiton last year, is one of SA’s biggest coal miners as a supplier to Eskom and an exporter. It has been speculated South32 could be a potential bidder for the Anglo American thermal coal operations in SA, which the company has been trying to sell for the past 18 months, but Kerr’s statement rules out that possibility. South32, which ended its June financial year with $312m of cash, has made two acquisitions recently. In June, it agreed to invest in a base metals exploration property in Canada, and last month it bought Metropolitan Colliery and its stake in Port Kembla Coal Terminal in Australia. Kerr said the Metropolitan transaction made sense because it was adjacent to South32’s Illawarra property, which would offer synergies, and it added about 2-...
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