Archive | Coal

A green metals company? Teck is betting on copper, and hoping investors don’t mind a side of coal – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – May 13, 2021)

May 13, 2021 in British Columbia Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Coal, Copper

https://financialpost.com/

When Teck Resources Ltd. reported its first quarter earnings in late April, its chief executive Don Lindsay emphasized that his company was focused on “green metals as they’re now called.”

Specifically, the Vancouver-based diversified mining company is touting its production of copper, a metal that’s expected to see significant demand growth as solar power, wind turbines, battery electric vehicles and various other ‘green’ technology, all of which use copper, account for an increasingly larger share of global energy.

“We have one of the very best copper production growth profiles in the industry and located in attractive jurisdictions,” Lindsay told analysts on April 28. “Accelerating copper growth is the cornerstone of our strategy and by growing our copper production, we rebalanced our portfolio toward what are now called ‘Green Metals’.” Continue Reading →

Remembering Mineral’s mining history – by Toby Cox (The Central Virginian – May 12, 2021)

May 13, 2021 in Coal, International Media Resource Articles, United States Mining History

https://www.thecentralvirginian.com/

The names of places often hint at their history. Virginia and Louisa County were both named after members of England’s royal family, recalling the United States’ pre-revolutionary times. The name of the Town of Mineral also recalls its distinctive history, as a mining hub.

Mineral was originally called Tolersville, named after William F. Toler who owned a tavern where the Mineral Volunteer Fire Department is currently situated. The town was renamed Mineral in 1902 when the mining boom in Central Virginia was at its height.

Mineral is located on the gold-pyrite belt that runs from Stafford County southwest through Culpeper, Orange, Spotsylvania, Fauquier, and Louisa counties. Continue Reading →

Indonesia says no new coal plants from 2023 (after the next 100 or so) – by Hans Nicholas Jong (Mongabay.com – May 12, 2021)

May 12, 2021 in Asia Mining, Coal, International Media Resource Articles

https://news.mongabay.com/

JAKARTA — Indonesia says it will stop building new coal-fired power plants after 2023 to meet its carbon-neutral goals — but the more than 100 plants to be built by then will still be churning out CO2 decades after that.

Zulkifli Zaini, CEO of state-owned electricity utility PLN, said there would be no more new thermal plants after an ongoing program to add 35,000 megawatts (MW) to the national grid — powered mostly by coal — is completed.

That program, rolled out in 2015, calls for building 117 new coal-fired power plants, with only 2,000 MW coming from renewable energy sources. Continue Reading →

Artists join coal fight, supporting southern Alberta landowners with online art auction – by Terry Vogt (CTV Calgary – May 10, 2021)

May 11, 2021 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Coal, Mining Conflict and Opposition

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. — More than two dozen artists have banded together to support a group of landowners fighting proposed coal mining projects in the foothills and Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

The artists from Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario have donated their art for an online auction. Proceeds will go to the Livingstone Landowners Group, which is leading the fight against mountaintop mining projects slated for the Crowsnest Pass area.

Artist Wes Olson lives east of Edmonton, near Elk Island National Park. He was one of the first artists to offer support, after hearing about the projects being proposed in an area where he grew up. Continue Reading →

Biden’s Road to Clean Energy Meets West Virginia Coal Country (Bloomberg News – May 4, 2021)

May 4, 2021 in Coal, International Media Resource Articles, United States Mining

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/

Gerald Lucas, 69, is a former coal miner and federal mine inspector who now gives public tours underground at the Beckley, W.Va., Exhibition Coal Mine, a working mine that ceased operations in 1953. He describes it as a fun job that allows him to share his decades of experience with visitors.

Lucas’s career change is becoming more common among West Virginians as the rural state of 1.8 million moves toward a new economy in which coal is no longer king. The state, which had a poverty rate of 16% in 2019, has long felt the effects of coal’s decline.

West Virginia lawmakers occupy key perches on Capitol Hill as President Joe Biden introduces a sweeping infrastructure and climate package—the $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan—and pledges to revitalize coal country. Continue Reading →

A tale of three countries: how Czechia, Germany, and Poland plan to ditch coal – by Kira Taylor (EURACTIV.com – May 4, 2021)

May 4, 2021 in Coal, Europe Mining, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.euractiv.com/

For decades, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have been at the heart of Europe’s so-called “lignite triangle” which produces most of the continent’s coal-based electricity. But with climate change now a top political priority, the priority is shifting to renewables.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres says all OECED countries must phase out coal by 2030 at the latest in order to comply with the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The European Union’s objective, agreed by EU leaders in December 2019, is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. That means Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic – the top three coal burners in Europe – are coming under growing pressure to transition to clean energy. Continue Reading →

Cleaning up abandoned mines can help environment, create jobs in Appalachia – by Joseph Pizarchik (Kentucky.com – April 29, 2021)

April 30, 2021 in Coal, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Environmental, Water Shortage and Land Reclamation/Revegetation Issues, United States Mining

https://www.kentucky.com/

Thousands of miles of streams across the country are running orange, contaminated by highly acidic water draining from abandoned coal mines.

Rather than supporting local economies, these abandoned sites and their pollution render water supplies and more than 850,000 acres of land unusable, while posing a risk of flooding and mudslides that could devastate entire towns.

All told, abandoned mine lands are an American infrastructure crisis. But, like many infrastructure problems, we can turn these liabilities into job-creating opportunities with investment at the scale of the problem. Continue Reading →

China’s energy actions speak louder than its climate pledges – by Patricia Adams (Financial Post – April 28, 2021)

April 29, 2021 in Asia Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Coal, Oil and Gas Sector-Politics and Image

https://financialpost.com/

China is hell-bent on increasing CO2 emissions to meet its often-stated strategic objective of world domination

Last week’s climate change summit, though advertised as a meeting designed to get 40 world leaders to make pledges to cut carbon dioxide emissions and save the planet, was more a trade negotiation of sorts, in which the West wants China to make firmer commitments on climate change and China wants to tie any new commitments to weakened trade sanctions and less complaining about its human rights record.

The West may well water down sanctions in exchange for Chinese commitments but all it will get from China in return is lip service. China is hell-bent on increasing CO2 emissions to meet its often-stated strategic objective of world domination. Continue Reading →

Anglo American restarts Queensland coal mine amid union backlash – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 23, 2021)

April 23, 2021 in Anglo American, Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, Coal, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.mining.com/

Anglo American (LON: AAL) has been granted approvals to allow workers to re-enter the Grosvenor coal mine in Queensland, Australia, almost a year after an explosion seriously injured five workers.

The underground mine has been closed since the methane explosion in May last year, the second incident in the area in less than 15 months.

Workers belonging to the CFMEU Mining and Energy union did not welcome the news. They say the miner had kept its workers fully informed of its plans to restart the underground mine. Continue Reading →

Alberta scientists urge adoption of bill that would protect against coal mining – by Bob Weber (Canadian Press/Global News – April 19, 2021)

April 22, 2021 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Coal

https://globalnews.ca/

Scientists from the University of Alberta want the provincial government to rethink its plans to expand coal-mining in the Rocky Mountains.

In an open letter to all members of the United Conservative caucus, 35 members of the university’s biology department have asked the government to support a private member’s bill from Opposition Leader Rachel Notley that they say would protect the mountains and their eastern slopes.

“There is no reliable method to stop leaching of hazardous waste produced by surface coal mining into groundwater where, inevitably, it will pollute precious watersheds we all depend on that are already under severe stress,” says the letter. Continue Reading →

The end of the world’s capital of brown coal – by Jessica Bateman (BBC.com – April 19, 2021)

April 20, 2021 in Coal, Europe Mining, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.bbc.com/

Germany is slowly shuttering its prolific lignite mines, which produce the least efficient type of coal. The ghostly towns in the mines’ shadows may hold a lesson for how to move on.

I’m standing in the middle of Old Manheim village, but my phone is telling me otherwise. On one side of me I can see the old church, its windows boarded up. On the other, there’s the village pub looking similarly abandoned.

But Google Maps is adamant this place doesn’t exist. The little arrow on my phone can’t even pick up the street I’m on. It thinks I’m in a field.

Since the late 1940s, around 50 villages like this have been cleared to make way for coal mines in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state. Old Manheim – or just Manheim, as it was once known – is on the edge of Hambach, one of three open-cast mines in the region where lignite, a soft brown coal used almost exclusively in power generation, is extracted. Continue Reading →

Opposition bill against coal mining in Rockies can proceed to legislature: committee – by Bob Weber (Canadian Press/Global News – April 13, 2021)

April 14, 2021 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Coal, Mining Conflict and Opposition

https://globalnews.ca/

An Opposition bill that would preserve Alberta’s Rocky Mountains from open-pit coal mines could be debated in the legislature after a government-dominated committee on Tuesday gave unanimous consent for it to move forward.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley, the bill’s sponsor, immediately challenged government members to approve a motion to debate the bill next Monday instead of letting it die on the order paper.

“Are they just going through the motions or are they really prepared to do what it takes and stand up for and represent the views of their constituents?” Notley asked after a meeting of the committee that screens private members’ bills and decides which of them goes ahead. Continue Reading →

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

April 12, 2021 in Coal, International Media Resource Articles

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. Continue Reading →

Anglo American to Spin Off South African Coal Mines in June – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – April 8, 2021)

April 12, 2021 in Africa Mining, Anglo American, Coal, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) – Anglo American Plc outlined plans to separate its South African coal mines into a new business, hastening its retreat from mining thermal coal.

Anglo has been plotting an exit from the most-polluting fuel for more than a year and has always said separating its South African business was the most likely outcome.

Anglo will still own a coal mine in Colombia that it’s also planning to sell and coking coal mines in Australia, used to make steel rather than burned for power. Continue Reading →

Alberta forms coal committee in response to intense public backlash – by Emma Graney (Globe and Mail – March 29, 2021)

March 30, 2021 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Coal, Mining Conflict and Opposition

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A new Alberta committee will lead public consultations on how the province should manage coal development, the latest move to mollify public backlash against the government’s decision to quietly kill a 44-year-old coal and land protection policy.

Cancellation of the 1976 coal policy in May made it easier for companies to pursue mines in sensitive regions, but widespread public anger about its removal forced the government to backpedal. It reinstated the policy, cancelled 11 coal leases and promised to consult with Albertans to come up with a new coal mining plan.

The first official steps in that process began Monday with the announcement of the new, independent committee. A survey for Albertans to share their thoughts is also online until April 19. The government says it will work directly with Indigenous leaders and communities to hear their perspectives. Continue Reading →