Coal – Page 119 – Republic of Mining

Why the ‘War on Coal’ Campaign Will Likely Fall Flat—Again – by Coral Davenport (National Journal – July 3, 2013)

July 3, 2013

http://www.nationaljournal.com/

Within hours of President Obama’s sweeping climate speech last week, Republican campaign committees reignited the charge that the president has declared “War on Coal.” They blasted inboxes and airwaves with “War on Coal” talking points, now aimed squarely at Democrats running in Senate and House races in 2014.

The “War on Coal campaign” failed to unseat Obama in the 2012 presidential campaign. And despite the potency of the rhetorical attack, it’s unlikely to have much impact on the 2014 races.

It’s true that President Obama’s plan takes direct aim at the U.S. coal industry. At the heart of the plan are new regulations slashing carbon pollution from new and existing coal-fired power plants. It could well put thousands of coal miners out of work.

But it’s not a given that it will cost Democrats politically.

Here’s why: As National Journal reported last week, the political power of coal has fundamentally weakened, a shift laid bare by last year’s elections. Between 2008 and 2012, the coal industry nearly quadrupled its political contributions, directing 90 percent of its money towards Republicans. But Obama still won comfortably in the four key swing states that produce the most coal: Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

Economy must return to sustainable footing after end of the mining boom – Brisbane Courier-Mail Editorial (June 29, 2013)

July 2, 2013

http://www.couriermail.com.au/

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday stepped up his rhetoric in relation to China and what he has now definitively called the end of the boom.

The halcyon days of ever rising commodity prices and demand for the things we dig out of the ground are finished; now comes the long, hard recalibration of an economy back to a broader, more sustainable footing was the line Mr Rudd prosecuted.

There may be an element of political overreach in the sense that while the peak of the boom appears to have well and truly crested, in historical terms the demand and price we receive for our commodity exports remains relatively healthy.

Coming off once in a generation highs to more sustainable levels does not constitute a crash after all, but it does give you the opportunity to paint yourself as the only party with clear policy to boost manufacturing, innovation and agriculture within a lower Aussie dollar paradigm.

Mr Rudd, possibly Australia’s most renowned Sinophile, should be heeded though, for events in China in recent weeks give cause for some alarm in a country as dependent on their economic well-being as Australia is.

Coal companies adjust to new realities as gas insulates Queensland from worst of global downturn – by John McCarthy (Brisbane Courier-Mail – June 29, 2013)

July 2, 2013

http://www.couriermail.com.au/

ABOUT 7000 jobs have been lost from the state’s coal sector in the past 15 months as the boom ends and companies shut mines and scale back production, according to the industry.

In the past week about 1000 jobs disappeared as some of the world’s biggest miners, Vale, Glencore and Peabody, adjusted to the new realities of the market in which the cost of producing coal is ”line ball” with prices.

Thousands more jobs have disappeared from service companies or contractors. Unions said the central Queensland towns of Tieri and Glenden would be devastated by the loss of about 450 jobs this week at the Oaky and Newlands mines, but have rejected any suggestion that big pay increases had been a factor.

The cost of abandoned coal and infrastructure projects is now about $10 billion in lost investment and the numbers of jobs that won’t be created would be in the thousands.

A handful of massive coal projects are also now extremely doubtful, particularly in the Galilee Basin, not just because of poor prices but also because of a lack of investment funds.

Insurgency threat may dim Mozambique’s shine for investors – by Marina Lopes and Pascal Fletcher (Reuters U.S. – June 20, 2013)

June 27, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/

MAPUTO/JOHANNESBURG – (Reuters) – An economic take-off in Mozambique driven by bumper coal and gas discoveries two decades after the end of a civil war is facing disruption from disgruntled former guerrillas who feel they have not benefited from the post-conflict dividend.

A public threat by the ex-rebel Renamo opposition party to paralyze central rail and road links has put the Frelimo government on alert and alarmed diplomats and investors.

A slide back into the kind of all-out war that crippled the former Portuguese southern African colony between 1975 and 1992 looks unlikely. Nevertheless, Mozambique’s rebirth as an attractive tourism and investment destination could lose some of its momentum after armed attacks in the last two months blamed on Renamo.

The raids in central Sofala province killed at least 11 soldiers and police and three civilians and came after Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama returned with his civil war comrades to the Gorongosa jungle base where they operated in the 1980s.

“It does bring back all those fears of the war,” said Joseph Hanlon, a senior lecturer at Britain’s Open University and an expert on Mozambique.

B.C. Liberals accused of breaking election promise over Klappan open-pit coal mine – by Larry Pynn (Vancouver Sun – June 10, 2013)

June 14, 2013

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Tahltan First Nation objects to environmental ‘fast-tracking’ of project

The B.C. Liberals risk breaking an important election promise by “fast-tracking” an environmental assessment of an open-pit coal mine in the so-called Sacred Headwaters of the Klappan in northwest B.C., Tahltan First Nation charged Friday.

“There has been opposition and resistance by our people,” said Tahltan Central Council president Annita McPhee said in an interview.

“To have an open-pit coal mine right in the headwaters … our people are opposed to development there. We want to see long-term protection that excludes having a coal mine in that area.”

The planned Arctos Anthracite Project would have a footprint of about 4,000 hectares, not including a railway line, and would produce an estimated three million tonnes per year of anthracite coal over the mine’s 25-year life span. Anthracite coal has a high carbon content and burns with a clean flame. It is primarily used in steel and metal making.

The project is a joint venture of Fortune Coal Ltd. and POSCO Klappan Coal Ltd., whose parent company is a South Korean steel giant.

Glencore Said to Study Rio Australia Coal-Assets Combination – by Jesse Riseborough (Bloomberg News – June 11, 2013)

June 12, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Glencore Xstrata Plc (GLEN), the biggest exporter of power station coal, is studying a plan to combine some of its Australian coal operations with mines run by Rio Tinto Group, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Glencore and Rio own some of the largest thermal coal mines in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales and have held initial talks on ways to share mines and infrastructure to cut costs, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are confidential. There is no certainty an agreement will be reached, one of the people said.

Slumping Chinese imports of the fuel and rising output in Indonesia are suppressing demand for Australian coal, prompting producers to fire workers to reduce costs. Baar, Switzerland-based Glencore Xstrata has interests in about 35 coal mines in Colombia, Africa and Australia, accounting for about 10 percent of global seaborne supplies of the fuel.

Spokesmen for Glencore and Rio Tinto declined to comment.

“A sharing of infrastructure and some combination of operations would likely have significant merit given coal earnings are highly sensitive to any reduction in the unit cost base,” Ash Lazenby, an analyst at Liberum Capital Ltd. in London, said today.

Wyoming govenor to talk coal exports on trip to Canada – by Bob Moen (Associated Press/Seattle Times – June 11, 2013)

June 12, 2013

http://seattletimes.com/html/home/index.html

Looking for ways to export coal mined in Wyoming, Gov. Matt Mead said he will tour port facilities in British Columbia as part of a weeklong trade trip to Canada.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Looking for ways to export coal mined in Wyoming, Gov. Matt Mead said he will tour port facilities in British Columbia as part of a weeklong trade trip to Canada.

Mead will meet with provincial leaders and talk to coal and rail representatives during the visit beginning on Wednesday.

Wyoming is the nation’s leading coal-producing state, but state officials are concerned about falling domestic demand as a result of global warming concerns and new federal regulations on coal-burning power plants.

Some see the need for more power generation by growing Asian economies as an ideal market for U.S. coal producers. But sending coal overseas requires West Coast ports.

Mining companies want to ship coal through ports in Oregon and Washington. However, opponents of coal trains in that region have raised concerns about dust, congestion and climate change.

PRESS RELEASE: China: Wood Mackenzie Says Thermal Coal Demand Will Reach Nearly 7btpa by 2030

June 5, 2013

http://www.woodmacresearch.com/

SINGAPORE/EDINBURGH/HOUSTON, 4th June 2013 – Wood Mackenzie’s report titled ‘China: The Illusion of Peak Coal’ says that despite efforts to limit coal consumption and seek alternative fuel options, China’s strong appetite for thermal coal will lead to a doubling of demand by 2030. China’s demand will grow to approximately seven billion tonnes per annum (btpa) of thermal coal which is contrary to speculation that China’s thermal coal demand may be reaching a peak in the next decade.

“It is very unlikely that demand for thermal coal in China will peak before 2030,” states Mr. William Durbin, Wood Mackenzie’s Beijing-based President of Global Markets. “Why? Because China’s aggressive investment program for nuclear, natural gas and renewables capacity is centred in the coastal region while coal-fired capacity grows in the central and western provinces. Indeed, there are also a plethora of coal-intensive conversion projects being built or planned that are significantly adding to demand.”

“Wood Mackenzie’s analysis already takes into account a rapid improvement in energy efficiency the likes of which have not been seen. We expect power demand per unit of GDP to fall by half in just 17 years, an extraordinary achievement for an economy experiencing such sustained growth. In spite of this efficiency improvement, power demand is still set to nearly triple to 15,000 Terawatt hours (TWh) by 2030. Indeed, if expected efficiency improvements do not materialise, then in the absence of alternatives, coal demand could increase further.”

Cape Breton mines attract Chilean delegation – CBC News Nova Scotia (June 4, 2013)

June 4, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/ns/

Chilean delegation interested in Cape Breton’s mining industry and Tar Ponds cleanup

A six-member delegation from Chile is coming to Cape Breton to learn more about managing mine closures and tackling environmental cleanups.

The Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation — a federal Crown corporation that fosters economic development — organized the visit by the delegation, which includes engineers from Chile’s mining and environmental companies and the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service.

Darlene Sponagle, the trade and investment officer for the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, said there is a need in South American countries for mine closure plans and there’s much they can learn.

“How we’ve all worked together to accomplish these projects here on Cape Breton Island, specifically around community engagement, stake holder engagement, First Nations engagement, as well as taking a look at some of the practices that were developed here between government and the private sector,” she said. Sponagle said the agenda is packed.

The fastest-growing coal-producing region in the USA – by John Chadwick (Publisher/International Mining – June 2013)

June 3, 2013

http://www.im-mining.com/

While coal in the USA is generally a story of falling output, the Illinois Basin – which covers southern Illinois, Indiana and west Kentucky – is bucking that trend. Production across the nation fell 7% in 2012, compared with 2011, with the biggest falls in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin (PRB), and Central Appalachia; but Illinois Basin output was up 10%.

It is this coal’s high sulphur content that resulted in it being largely ignored over recent years, in favour of coal that is more expensive to mine in fields to the east.

However, with power generators equipping facilities with scrubbers that sulphur content is no longer a problem. And producers can save money from Illinois Basin coal that costs something like half that of Central Appalachia to produce.

Characterised by high BTU, mid-range sulphur, moderate ash and low moisture content coal, 2012 output declined an estimated 63.5 Mt, led by an 18% decrease in Central Appalachia. PRB production declined 8%, while the Illinois Basin
rose 11%.

According to the USGS, the area of coalbearing rocks in the Illinois Basin comprises 95,312 km2 in Illinois, 16,835 km2 in southwest Indiana, and 16,576 km2 in western Kentucky.

Plan to import miners stirred a wave of anger – by James Keller (Canadian Press/Vancouver Sun – June 1, 2013)

June 3, 2013

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

One resident of an unnamed B.C. community claimed to personally know 40 unemployed miners who would be happy to work at a proposed coal mine in the province’s northeast, which was instead slated to temporarily employ Chinese workers. Another lamented the mine’s hiring plan as just the latest example of Canadian resources leaving this country.

And yet another bluntly asked: “Are you trying to lose the next election?” As debate swirled about Chinese owned HD Mining’s plan to use temporary foreign workers at its proposed underground coal mine – prompting several government investigations and a lawsuit by a pair of unions – the province was flooded with angry letters from the public.

The dozens of emails and typewritten letters on the subject were sent to the government between October and January. All oppose the importing of Chinese workers, with many writers telling the government they simply do not believe the assertion there was no way to train and hire workers from the province.

More ‘tough love’ in store at BHP – by Brian Robins (Sydney Morning Herald – May 30, 2013)

May 31, 2013

http://www.smh.com.au/

BHP Billiton has flagged its coal division is in for more ”tough love” as it puts underperforming mines on the block and winds back capital spending against the backdrop of a tough global market which is not expected to turn up any time soon.

BHP has forced suppliers to renegotiate contracts following a collapse in earnings of the division, which is barely breaking even following a sustained profit slide over the past few years.

Believed to be on the block is the Gregory coking coal mine in Queensland, which was partly shut down last year due to low coal prices. It has also shut the Norwich Park mine nearby as it moves to ”simplify” its portfolio.

BHP is also negotiating with the Navajo Nation over the sale of its mine in New Mexico, US, which, according to reports, could raise an estimated $US85 million.

”We will selectively pursue asset divestment opportunities with a firm focus on value,” BHP told analysts on Wednesday. ”Assets must earn their right to remain in the portfolio.”

Controversy over Chinese miners in B.C. prompts flood of angry letters – by James Keller (Canadian Press/CTV News – May 31, 2013)

May 31, 2013

http://www.ctvnews.ca/

VANCOUVER — One resident of an unnamed British Columbia community claimed to personally know 40 unemployed miners who would be more than happy to work at a proposed coal mine in the province’s northeast that was instead slated to employ temporary Chinese workers.

Another lamented the mine’s hiring plan as just the latest example of Canadian resources leaving this country.
And yet another bluntly asked: “Are you trying to lose the next election?”

As a public debate swirled about Chinese-owned HD Mining’s plan to use temporary foreign workers at its proposed underground coal mine — prompting multiple government investigations and a lawsuit by a pair of unions — the province was flooded with angry letters from the public.

Four months of those letters, obtained through freedom of information laws, reveal deep anger about the province’s public support for the project and little sympathy for politicians and company officials who insisted there was not a single Canadian qualified to work at the mine. The dozens of emails and typewritten letters sent to the government on the subject between October and January stretch on for more than 70 pages.

Editorial: HD on its feet after a tumble – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – May 29, 2013)

May 30, 2013

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry. Editor John Cumming MSc (Geol) is one of the country’s most well respected mining journalists. jcumming@northernminer.com

Another chapter closed in the HD Mining International saga, with HD celebrating a win in the federal courts against two B.C. unions who had tried to thwart the junior developer’s efforts to import Chinese workers to take a bulk sample at its Murray River underground coal mine project, located southeast of Tumbler Ridge in northeastern B.C.

Once operating, the $300-million Murray River project would produce 6 million tonnes of metallurgical coal per year over 30 years, creating about 600 direct and 700 indirect jobs. HD Mining has already spent $50 million on the project.

The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 115, and the Construction and Specialized Workers’ Union, Local 1611, had banded together to challenge the federal decision that authorized the temporary use of 201 foreign workers, but the challenge was dismissed on May 21 by the Federal Court of Canada. While the applicants do not represent any workers of HD, they were granted public interest standing and permitted to launch their challenge because they represent mining workers in B.C.

In his decision, Justice Russel Zinn noted that it was the first time a positive decision made under the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) had ever been challenged, and that it “made for a hard-fought application.”

Questions Remain in HD Mining Case – by Jeremy J. Nuttall (The Tyee – May 24, 2013)

May 28, 2013

http://thetyee.ca/

Key evidence was struck from the record in federal court, say unions. Earlier this week, a federal court justice dismissed an attempt by two British Columbia unions to have temporary foreign worker permits for 201 miners revoked.

The Construction and Specialized Workers Union and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115 launched their case after it came to light the company, HD Mining, had advertised mining positions listing Mandarin as a job requirement.

The unions contended the language requirement was meant to exclude Canadians so the company could bring workers from China and legally pay them 15 per cent less than market wages at its Murray River project near Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

After a months-long court battle Judge Russel Zinn ruled Tuesday HD Mining filed its applications properly according to the rules that were in place at the time.

But the unions said they lost because Zinn struck from the record key evidence that would have helped their case and, in their view, showed the company misrepresented its mining plans in the form of a notice of work application.