TOKYO (Reuters) - Mitsui & Co <8031.T> will hold on to its 20 percent stake in the Kestrel coking coal mine in Australia even after the planned sale of Rio Tinto's <RIO.L> <RIO.AX> 80 percent stake in the mine, a spokesman for the Japanese trading house said on Friday.
"We will continue to be involved in the Kestrel mine with new partners," the spokesman said.
Global miner Rio Tinto said in March that it would sell its stake in the Kestrel mine, which produces high-quality coking coal, to private equity manager EMR Capital and Indonesian coal company Adaro Energy Tbk <ADRO.JK> for $2.25 billion.
Mitsui has said it would trim its thermal coal assets in the long term amid growing pressure worldwide for companies to cut reliance on the fossil fuel, but would continue to invest in coking coal - a key raw material for steel-making.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Sunil Nair)
