Vale is not wasting any time slimming down its operations, it seems.
On Monday the company announced it had sold its Colombian thermal coal assets for $407m to Goldman Sachs’ Colombian Natural Resources.
Vale said earlier this month that it was looking to sell off the assets as part of a wider move to focus on key operations under the company’s new chief executive, Murilo Ferreira.
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Vale bought the Colombian assets in 2008 for $306m and has come to regret it since. The mines are relatively small and costly in comparison to the large operations of its rivals in the region. Glencore, for example, owns the Prodeco Group which ranks as the third-largest producer of export thermal coal in Colombia with total reserves of over 540m tonnes.
Some had also questioned whether Vale paid too much for the assets in the first place.
The fact that the Brazilian miner managed to sell for a $101m profit is a bonus - albeit peanuts for a company of Vale’s size.
What matters most to shareholders, though, is that Monday’s deal shows the company really is serious about focusing on its core businesses.
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