Rio Tinto has reached a deal to sell its 80 per cent stake in the Kestrel underground coal mine in central Queensland for almost $3 billion ($US2.25 billion).

The binding agreement with a consortium of EMR Capital and PT Adaro Energy represents the company’s full exit from the Australian coal business.

It follows news of Glencore buying Rio Tinto’s majority stake in the Hail Creek coal mine and adjacent coal resources, as well as its 71.2 per cent interest in the Valeria coal resource, for $2.2 billion (US$1.7 billion), as well as the announcement last week of the sale of the Winchester South coal development project, 30km south-east of Moranbah, to Whitehaven Coal .

Subject to all regulatory approvals and other conditions precedent being satisfied, completion is expected to occur in the second half of 2018.

It will bring the total amount achieved from the recent divestments of Rio Tinto’s Queensland coal assets to about $5.4 billion ($US4.15 billion).

The Kestrel mine is located in the Bowen Basin, 40km north-east of Emerald, where longwall mining is used to produce coking and thermal coal products.

In 2017 the Kestrel mine produced 5.1 million tonnes of saleable coal, comprising 4.25 million tonnes of hard coking coal and 0.84 million tonnes of thermal coal.