Loan for Partial Acquisition of Participation Interest in Blackwater Coking Coal Mine in Australia
Contributing toward Securing Stable Resource Supply for Japanese Companies

• Region: Oceania
• Energy and Natural Resources
• Overseas Investment Loans

1. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: HAYASHI Nobumitsu) signed a loan agreement^*1 amounting to up to JPY34.2 billion (JBIC portion) with JFE Holdings, Inc. (JFEHD). The loan is co-financed with Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and MUFG Bank, Ltd., bringing the total co-financing amount to JPY57.0 billion.
     
2. The loan is intended to finance the funds necessary for JFE Steel Corporation^*2 (JFE Steel) to acquire part of the participation interest in Blackwater Coal Mine in Queensland in eastern Australia, through JFE Steel Australia Resources Pty Ltd, an Australian company wholly owned by JFE Steel. Through the acquisition, JFE Steel plans to purchase coking coal^*3 for steelmaking over a long term.
     
3. To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, JFE Steel is taking a multitrack approach to accelerate its development of the most promising ultra-innovative steelmaking technologies, such as carbon-recycling blast furnaces^*4, direct-reduction steelmaking and large, high-efficiency electric-arc furnaces. As part of the effort to realize stable, efficient steelmaking processes, the carbon-recycling blast furnace will use high-quality coking coal from Blackwater Coal Mine. The loan supports JFE Steel in acquiring the participation interest of high-quality coking coal, which is an important mineral for Japanese companies and enhances the supply chains in the steel and iron industry.
     
4. As Japan's policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to provide financial support for the securing of a stable supply of mineral resources to Japan, in collaboration with private financial institutions.
     

Note

1. *1 
   The loan agreement was signed on March 27, 2025.
2. *2 
   JFE Steel Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of JFEHD.
3. *3 
   A type of coal that has physical properties which, when heated, cause it to soften, liquefy, and then resolidify into a harder substance known as coke, which is used as a material for steelmaking.
4. *4 
   JFE Steel’s proprietary technologies that will enable the repeated use of carbon by recovering CO2 as a resource, converting it to methane using methanation technology, and utilizing it as a reducing agent in the blast furnace process.