Jan. 28—POTTSVILLE — The history of anthracite coal in the southern fields usually goes something like this: Necho Allen discovers coal in 1790, igniting an economic engine that burns brightly for 150 years or so.
The black diamonds Allen’s campfire lighted while he slept atop Broad Mountain fueled the Industrial Revolution and remained a vital energy force through World War I and World War II.
SYDNEY, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Major coal producers are in talks with the government of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, over its surprise plan to have miners reserve up to 10% of production for domestic supply, as part of efforts to curb soaring energy costs.
The talks will review what the shortfalls are and how miners can fill them without disrupting supply chains. Early signs point to a limited impact on coal producers though, as there are limited spot supplies to be requisitioned under the rule.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/
Agreement could change how natural resources projects are developed in Canada
A coal company and a First Nation in British Columbia have struck a rare deal to give the community the power to veto a proposed mining project, which could set a precedent for how natural resources projects are developed in Canada.
NWP Coal Canada and the Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it (YQT), also known as the Tobacco Plains Indian Band, describe the agreement as one of a kind and say it will give the First Nation the power to act as a “regulator and reviewer” of the company’s proposed $400-million Crown Mountain coal mine near Elkford, in the southeast part of the province.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is carried away by police during a rally near the German village of Luetzerath, slated for demolition.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been hauled away and detained during a protest near a German village being razed to make way for a coal mine expansion.
Thunberg has been in Germany for several days to support demonstrations against the demolition of Luetzerath, which has become a symbol of resistance against fossil fuels.
LUTZERATH, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Around 6,000 protesters – including climate activist Greta Thunberg – marched through mud and rain to the German village of Luetzerath on Saturday, according to a police estimate, demonstrating against the expansion of an opencast lignite mine.
The clearing of the village in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia was agreed between RWE (RWEG.DE) and the government in a deal that allowed the energy giant to demolish Lutzerath in exchange for its faster exit from coal and saving five villages originally slated for destruction.
The Narwhal
Southern mountain caribou in B.C. are increasingly rare. Rarer still is a mine project rejected under the province’s environmental assessment process. Yet, that’s just what happened to the Sukunka coal mine proposed by Swiss mining giant Glencore in the Peace River region of northeast B.C.
The mine — which would have operated over a lifespan of 20 years and generated 1.5 to 2.5 million tonnes of metallurgical coal each year from six open pits — was soundly rejected in December, primarily due to its impacts on the endangered Quintette caribou herd.
The Narwhal
The intricacies of how big corporations lobby government bodies can be hard to untangle. But at a recent environmental review board meeting in Montana, those efforts were in plain sight. For years, Canadian mining giant Teck Resources has been fighting against U.S. water standards, which target pollution flowing from its Elk Valley coal mines in southeast B.C. downstream to the Kootenai watershed in Montana and Idaho.
Those standards were approved by the Montana’s Board of Environmental Review in 2020. It was a process the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency commended “for collaborating with multiple stakeholders for over five years.” The state’s adopted standards were based on “sound science” specific to Lake Koocanusa, the Environmental Protection Agency wrote in its approval.
From her tiny wooden treehouse, which sways precariously in the winter wind, a young woman watches an enormous mechanical digger tear into the earth below, its jaws edging ever closer to the village which she’s determined to save.
Lützerath, in western Germany, is on the verge – literally – of being swallowed up by the massive coal mine on its doorstep. Around 200 climate change activists, who are now all that stand in the way of the diggers expanding the Garzweiler opencast mine, have been warned that if they don’t leave by Tuesday they’ll be forcibly evicted.
Glencore (LON: GLEN) is facing fresh pressure from investors with $2.2 trillion in assets to disclose how the company’s projected thermal coal production aligns with the Paris Agreement’s objective to pursue efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C.
Shareholders including Europe’s Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) and HSBC Asset Management have filed a resolution demanding details on the matter, which will go to vote at Glencore’s annual meeting in May.
The global energy crisis caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine has pushed global demand for coal – the most polluting of all fossil fuels – to a record high in 2022, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.
Demand for coal is set to grow 1.2% and top 8 billion metric tons for the first time ever this year, the IEA said in the latest edition of its annual coal report. This record comes only a year after countries agreed to phase down their use of coal at the United Nations’ climate conference in Glasgow.
https://www.northernminer.com/
Gifts have been exchanged in England during December since before the building of Stonehenge 5,000 years ago. Back then our Neolithic ancestors were celebrating the midwinter solstice (Dec. 21) with feasts and offerings.
The parties became more formal following the landing of Roman legions in AD43, with their festival of Saturnalia (Dec. 17-23) and its tradition of banquets and the giving of gifts. In the first half of the 4th century, Emperor Constantine amalgamated the Empire’s various mid-winter festivals into a celebration of the birth of Christ (choosing Dec. 25 as it corresponded with the winter solstice in the Roman calendar).
Teck Resources Ltd.’s new chief aims to leverage his company’s booming coal business to get bigger in copper and become a “significant” miner of the metal behind the global energy transition.
“We’re so focused on copper just because of the critical role that the metal is going to play in decarbonization through electrification,” Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Price said in his first interview since taking the top job in September. “It’s really the cornerstone of what we’re doing.”
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative government on Wednesday approved the U.K.’s first new coal mine in three decades, a decision condemned by environmentalists as a leap backwards in the fight against climate change.
Hours earlier, the government had reversed a ban on building new onshore windfarms in Britain. Opponents called that announcement a cynical attempt to offset criticism of the mine decision.
For the second time this year, Mongolians are protesting against the government in significant numbers. In April, protests seemed to primarily grow out of younger Mongolians’ disappointed expectations with the government.
Today’s protests were sparked by apparent revelations about grand corruption, involving coal deliveries by state-owned Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, one of the country’s largest mining companies, to China.
(Bloomberg) — Polish taxi driver Grzegorz says his phone won’t stop ringing, such is the demand for his services. Yet it’s not a ride people want. Grzegorz has given up driving for a far more lucrative line of work as Poland grapples with energy shortages: illegal mining.
Around his home in the Lower Silesian city of Walbrzych, coal sits as little as a meter below the surface in fields, recreation areas and even gardens. A four-man team can unearth a ton in an hour and make 1,000 zloty ($220) each for half a day’s work, roughly 60% of what an average person earns in a week.
