A Glencore spokesperson told Australian Mining the majority stake, which was not specified, is related to its 2017 deal to acquire a 49 per cent interest in the Hunter Valley Operations in New South Wales with Yancoal.

Glencore’s JV interest stemmed from Yancoal’s acquisition of Coal & Allied from Rio Tinto and paved the way for the Swiss miner to secure its stake in Newcastle Coal Shippers.

“Glencore’s acquisition of Parallax Holdings closes out an outstanding administrative matter related to our 2017 acquisition of a 49 per cent share in Hunter Valley Operations,” the spokesperson said.

“This provides us with a majority stake in Newcastle Coal Shippers and we continue to support its existing operating model.”

Newcastle Coal Shippers is a private company that contributed $1.2 million in dividends to Port Waratah Coal Services last year.

According to Port Waratah Coal Services’ 2020 annual report, Newcastle Coal Shippers’ principal activity was investment in the port company.

Port Waratah Coal Services owns and manages the Kooragang and Carrington coal terminals at the Port of Newcastle.

The two terminals hold a combined capacity of 145 million tonnes per year.

According to the Minerals Council of Australia’s Australian Export Thermal Coal: The Comparative Quality Advantages report, Australia is tied with the United States for the highest-quality coal.

The Hunter Valley Operations produces thermal and semi-soft metallurgical coal and produced 9.481 million tonnes of saleable product in 2019.

In May, Glencore acquired BHP and Anglo American’s 33.3 per cent interests in the Cerrejòn coal mine in Columbia for $US588 million ($786 million), giving it full ownership of the mine.

The company is one of Australia’s largest coal producers with assets across New South Wales and Queensland.