According to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun report, steelmakers including Nippon Steel Corp, JFE Holdings, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Kobe Steel and Nisshin Steel Co have made an offer to buy about four million tons of coal a year for the next 10 years from the planned Elga mine in Russia.
The Elga project has estimated reserves of more than two billion tons and an annual production of 20 million tons.
AFX Asia also reported the steel makers have also proposed a similar long-term deal to the operator of a major coal mine development project in Australia. The report did not specify which operator or at what prices.