Coal production from mining’s top ten set to increase – by Daniel Brightmore (Mining Global – April 11, 2021)

https://www.miningglobal.com/

GlobalData analysis points to increased coal production of up to 6.6% in 2021 from the likes of Glencore, Peabody, Coal India and BHP

Coal production from the top ten mining companies (Coal India, China Shenhua, Yanzhou Coal, Peabody, China National Coal, Glencore, Siberian Coal, PT Bumi, BHP and Arch Resources) fell from a collective 1,704Mt in 2019 to 1,633Mt in 2020, which is a 4.2% decline.

The most significant declines were observed from Arch Resources (28.6%), PT Bumi (24.9%), Glencore (23.9%), and Peabody (21.8%), according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData expects production from the top ten companies to be between 1,683-1,740Mt in 2021, which is an increase of up to 6.6% compared with the collective output in 2020 (1,633Mt). Operating activities, backed by the rollout of vaccine and strict COVID-19 protocols on-site, returning to normal is expected to be a key production driver for companies in 2021.

Coal

Production from Arch Resources (formerly Arch Coal) declined primarily due to the sale of the Holden #22 Surface mine in December 2019, coupled with weak economic conditions during Q1 2020. In addition, the temporary suspension of the Viper mine in Q2 2020 further disrupted the company’s coal production.

Vinneth Bajaj, Associate Project Manager at GlobalData, commented: “Heavy rainfall amid the outbreak of COVID-19 impacted PT Bumi’s output in 2020, while Glencore’s coal output fell for the fourth consecutive quarter as the company’s Colombian coal assets remained suspended as part of the COVID-19 preventive measures.

For the rest of this article: https://www.miningglobal.com/sustainability-1/coal-production-minings-top-ten-set-increase