Iran believes all remaining workers have died in coal mine explosion, raising death toll to 49 – by Nasser Karimi (Associated Press – September 24, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Tuesday it believes the remaining workers trapped by an explosion at a coal mine in the country’s east have died, bringing the death toll in one of its worst industrial disasters to at least 49.

A provincial emergency official, Mohammad Ali Akhoundi, gave the death toll in a report carried by Iranian state television from the mine in Tabas.

Read more

[Coal Mining] Life today feels tough, but our ancestors faced harder battles – by Gabriela Bereghazyova (Slovak Spectator – September 24, 2024)

https://spectator.sme.sk/

In an age where millennials struggle with mortgages and the cost of living, it’s easy to romanticize the past.

Today, life is not a stroll through a rose garden. But for the purpose of a reality check, it is worth contrasting our current challenges with those of our ancestors who chose to pursue a brighter future in the New World just over a century ago.

Let’s take a look at what life was like for our ancestors at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Countless people in Slovakia, then Upper Hungary, lived in poverty. Their homeland did not offer them a way out of the vicious circle of destitution.

Read more

Approval of West Cumbria Mining coal mine ruled “unlawful” in court appeal – by Regan Slaymaker (Mining Technology – September 16, 2024)

https://www.mining-technology.com/

Friends of the Earth and South Lakeland Action on Climate Change (SLACC) challenged the then Conservative Government’s approval in 2022.

London’s High Court ruled on Friday (13 September) that the 2022 approval of West Cumbria Mining’s deep coal mine was unlawful. The mine was set to become the UK’s first new deep coal mine in decades until Friends of the Earth and the SLACC challenged the then-Conservative Government’s approval in early 2023.

Read more

Goldman has a stock model that’s challenging ESG assumptions – by Frances Schwartzkopff (Bloomberg News – September 10, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

At Goldman Sachs Group Inc., there’s an ESG filter that tells investors to buy coal giant Glencore Plc, and avoid Big Tech staples Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.

The filter is designed to pick stocks based on how much attention companies pay to recycling, waste management and the re-use of materials and products. The better they do, the higher they score on a metric called circularity. The approach, the latest example of the huge portfolio variations that investors face depending on the ESG screen they use, has shown it can beat the wider market over time, according to Goldman.

Read more

Northern B.C. coal mine comes back to life after 24 years – by Hanna Petersen (CBC News British Columbia – September 09, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

Company, mayor hope Quintette Mine will bring huge boost to Tumbler Ridge

After 24 years, a steel-making coal mine in northeastern B.C. has roared back to life. Last week, Conuma Resources received permits from the province giving it the green light to restart operations at a portion of the Quintette Mine, located 20 kilometres south of Tumbler Ridge.

“We were very excited to receive it,” said Conuma Resources CEO Brian Sullivan. “We’re going to spend upwards of $500 million bringing it back into production. It will have a permanent workforce of more than 400 permanent good paying jobs.”

Read more

Poland Seeks to Rethink, Not Quash Coal Spin-Offs, Minister Says – by Maciej Martewicz (Bloomberg News – September 3, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Poland is seeking to amend plans for utilities to spin off their coal assets, according to the minister in charge of managing state assets.

The European Union’s most coal-dependent nation has struggled with its energy transition, with the previous administration failing to complete a plan to separate the coal assets from utilities and move them to a separate entity — known as NABE — all in one go.

Read more

From diamonds to coal – The tragedy of trade – by Nandkumar M Kamat (Navhind Times – November 22, 2020)

Home

The hand of history is sometimes cruel. After enjoying status as an international diamond trading hub, Goa is now concerned about turning into a major coal importing hub in Indo-Pacific. Since there is a lot of attention to coal in local public discourse, people have forgotten the position of Goa in a related commodity- diamonds. Diamond and coal offer stark contrasts.

Diamond and coal are allotropes of carbon. Diamond is defined as a glimmering glass-like mineral that is an allotrope of carbon in which each atom is surrounded by four others in the form of a tetrahedron. Coal is defined as a black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.

Read more

US Coal Miner Consol to Buy Arch Resources for $2.3 Billion – by Christine Buurma and David Carnevali (Bloomberg News – August 21, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — US coal producer Arch Resources Inc. agreed to merge with rival Consol Energy Inc. in a $2.3 billion deal aimed at creating a North American mining heavyweight to deliver the fuel around the world.

The companies announced the transaction in a statement Wednesday after the deal talks were reported earlier by Bloomberg. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Arch stockholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 1.326 shares of Consol stock for each share of Arch common stock. Consol shareholders will own about 55% of the combined company, to be called Core Natural Resources.

Read more

China is backing off coal power plant approvals after a 2022-23 surge that alarmed climate experts – by Ken Moritsugu (Associated Press – August 20, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

BEIJING (AP) — Approvals for new coal-fired power plants in China dropped sharply in the first half of this year, according to an analysis released Tuesday, after a flurry of permits in the previous two years raised concern about the government’s commitment to limiting climate change.

A review of project documents by Greenpeace East Asia found that 14 new coal plants were approved from January to June with a total capacity of 10.3 gigawatts, down 80% from 50.4 gigawatts in the first half of last year.

Read more

Revival of the Rockies’ once-prosperous coal industry clashes with those who say it will harm the land – by Emma Graney (Globe and Mail – August 19, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Grassy Mountain has become a battleground between those who see the economic benefits of coal development and those who warn about the risks to the environment

The wind rips across Grassy Mountain as the truck rumbles slowly along a crude track that, for decades, carried miners and coal around this part of the Crowsnest Pass, Alta. Remnants of the region’s coal industry, which dates back to 1900, litter the mountain; an old cart, twisty rusted metal, pockmarked buildings, weathered planks of wood and a mountaintop carved by decades of open-pit mining.

It’s also a battleground, pitting those who support coal development in the region against those who are firmly opposed. A lead proponent is Northback Holdings Corp., which owns a huge swath of land that was, until the 1960s, teaming with coal mines above and under the ground.

Read more

Coal mining degraded 35% of native land cover in India’s central coal belt – by Simrin Sirur (India Mongabay.com – August 16, 2024)

https://india.mongabay.com/

A new study capturing how coal mining transforms land use over time demonstrates the challenges in restoring this land upon mine closure – an important aspect of a just transition as India plans to move away from coal.

Three functional coal mines in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh degraded 35% of the area’s native land cover, the study, conducted by researchers from various institutes, found. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Environmental Science in July.

Read more

It’s past time for the Trudeau government to follow through on its promise to stop exporting this polluting energy source – by Jennifer Cole (Toronto Star – August 10, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

Every summer wildfires devastate communities. Last summer it was Kelowna, B.C., this year it’s Jasper., Alta. And yet, Canada still exports coal, a fossil fuel contributing to climate change and wildfires.

According to researchers, the ferocity and frequency of wildfires are exacerbated by the effects of human-caused climate change and the burning of the above-mentioned fossil fuels.

Read more

Glencore scraps plans to ditch coal on investors pressure – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 7, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Glencore (LON: GLEN) scrapped on Wednesday plans to separate its coal division, which it had announced following its acquisition of assets from Teck Resources last year (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B)(NYSE: TECK), as shareholders opposed the move.

The Swiss miner and commodities trader said in November it would merge Teck’s steelmaking coal business with its own coal assets, after which it would demerge the combined unit.

Read more

Glencore’s coal takeover draws ire of MPs – by Natasha Bulowski (National Observer – July 29, 2024)

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

A Swiss-based mining company with a sketchy foreign business record that won approval to take over Teck Resources’ B.C. coal mines has MPs from multiple parties and environmental groups up in arms.

François-Philippe Champagne, federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, approved mining giant Glencore’s $12.3-billion takeover of Teck Resources’ coal mines — called Elk Valley Resources — on July 4.

Read more

High Returns Lure Wealthy Investors to Fund Coal as Banks Exit – by Sharon Klyne (Bloomberg News – July 21, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Wealthy Australians, in search of attractive investment returns, are emerging as an important pool of capital for financing coal projects shunned by banks due to environmental, social and governance concerns.

Income Asset Management Group Ltd. is one fund manager targeting the well-off in Australia to provide private loans to coal and other mining companies, offering investment returns of about of 12% to 13% per year.

Read more