Coal – Page 78 – Republic of Mining

RPT-COLUMN-Will coal price retreat be a Dunkirk or Stalingrad?: – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – November 22, 2016)

November 22, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Nov 22 It may be a tad early to call a peak in the price of thermal coal in top-consuming region Asia, but at the very least the momentum seems to have been lost from a commodity that has surged some 130 percent in the past 10 months.

If coal prices have already peaked, the question is which of the World War II battles of Dunkirk or Stalingrad will the retreat most resemble. A Dunkirk-style retreat would see coal prices hold on to much of their gains this year, just as the British Army managed to keep much of its fighting strength by evacuating from France in the face of a German victory in 1940.

A Stalingrad-style defeat would see coal prices surrender most of their gains in a rout similar to what happened when the German Sixth Army was surrounded and annihilated by Soviet forces in the winter of 1942-43 at Stalingrad.

Coal phase-out another sign of Liberals’ climate-policy muddle – by Terence Corcoran (Financial Post – November 22, 2016)

November 22, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

In announcing a national coal phase-out Monday, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna claimed to have “a vision of a clean-growth economy.” Unfortunately, it’s a vision unaccompanied by a clear grasp of how to achieve a clean and growing economy. Instead, the move shows a government in the thrall of green activists wielding dubious statistics on the health benefits of eliminating coal, and a government that seems to think it can change the world.

The Liberal climate policy muddle runs deep. Start with the blatant contradictions over the use of carbon pricing, a hard economic concept its eco-fiscal proponents said would let the market solve the carbon emission problem. Tax it and they will stop.

That’s now a national farce, since McKenna announced that the government will instead regulate coal out of existence in most of Canada by 2030 rather than let carbon pricing do the job.

Ottawa requires provinces to phase out coal by 2030, expected to affect taxpayers – by Geoffrey Morgan (Financial Post – November 22, 2016)

November 22, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

CALGARY – The federal government’s plan to phase out coal-fired power ahead of schedule will affect taxpayers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, but have little effect in Alberta, the province with most coal-generated electricity plants in the country.

Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna announced Monday that coal-fired power plants in the country now must shut-down or install technology to eliminate their emissions by 2030. The government’s goal is to move Canada’s electric grids toward 90 per cent renewable or non-emitting sources by 2030, up from 80 per cent now.

The Liberals must adapt to Trump — but they’ll need to abandon their low-carbon, high-tax ideology first – by Joe Oliver (Financial Post – November 22, 2016)

November 22, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

Some Canadians, their hair on fire, are terrified about the terrible things an appalling Donald Trump might do to his country and the world. They need grief counselling.

A more balanced perspective, and one of direct relevance to Canada, is that the president-elect is likely to implement several platform promises that advance America’s national interest, but which could seriously impact our country. Their implications relate to the viability of a national carbon tax, fiscal policy and funding for our military.

Canada can, and should, respond in a way that protects our own national interests. The big question is whether the necessary response will prove too difficult for the Trudeau government to swallow.

Ontario advises other provinces to keep an eye on hydro bills as coal phased out – by Keith Leslie (Guelph Today – November 21, 2016)

November 22, 2016

https://www.guelphtoday.com/

Canadian Press – TORONTO — Ontario has some advice for its fellow provinces as they move to meet the federal government’s newly unveiled goal of eliminating coal-fired power generation in Canada by 2030: keep an eye on those electricity bills.

The province’s Liberal government likes to boast that shutting down coal plants has all but eliminated Ontario’s once-ubiquitous smog days, making life easier for people with asthma and other breathing problems.

But it cost billions of dollars to build new transmission lines and replace coal with power from natural gas, wind, solar and biomass projects — not to mention maintaining a fleet of expensive nuclear reactors that still supply about half of Ontario’s electricity.

Ottawa to phase out coal, aims for virtual elimination by 2030 – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – November 21, 2016)

November 21, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

OTTAWA — The Liberal government has announced its plan to virtually eliminate the use of traditional coal-fired electricity by 2030, but will offer some flexibility to the provinces.

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna unveiled the coal-phase-out plan Monday as one of a series of measures that Ottawa is introducing ahead of the first ministers’ meeting in December, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hopes to conclude a pan-Canadian climate accord.

“Taking traditional coal power out of our energy mix and replacing it with cleaner technologies will significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, improve the health of Canadians, and benefit generations for years to come,” Ms. McKenna told reporters. She could not provide an estimate on the cost to consumers but said Ottawa will work with provinces to invest in the most affordable options.

Review: ‘Blood on the Mountain’ Looks at the Ravages of Coal Mining – by Neil Genzlinger (New York Times – November 17, 2016)

November 18, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

“Blood on the Mountain” is a clumsily made attack on the coal industry in West Virginia, but it benefits considerably from the events of the past two weeks.

The film jumps around chronologically and thematically in a way that dilutes its impact, but it still provides plenty of cause to question the wisdom of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s stated intentions of reviving coal mining and reducing environmental and other regulations.

The film, by Mari-Lynn Evans and Jordan Freeman, traces the unpleasant history of coal in West Virginia, including obvious black marks like the 2010 explosion at a Massey Energy Company mine, in which 29 people died, and less obvious ones like vanishing pension and health care benefits.

Queensland’s new groundwater law a ‘risk’ to resource projects – miners – by Esmarie Swanepoel (MiningWeekly.com – November 18, 2016)

November 18, 2016

http://www.miningweekly.com/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Despite objections from the resources sector and dire warnings about the impact it will have on the development of coal projects, the Queensland Parliament has backed the Environmental Protection (Underground Water Management) and Other Legislation Amendment (EPOLA) Bill.

In essence, the Bill is aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the environmental assessment of underground water extraction by resource projects, while allowing for the ongoing scrutiny of the environmental impacts of underground water extraction during the operational phase of a resource project.

The Bill is also aimed at improving the ‘make good’ framework in the current Water Act, ensuring that the administering authority for the Environmental Protection Act is a decision-maker for specific applications relating to environmental authorities.

World’s Top Miner Expects Iron Ore, Coal Price Surge to Cool – by David Stringer (Bloomberg News – November 17, 2016)

November 17, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest miner, expects soaring prices of iron ore and coking coal to moderate even as China pushes ahead with efforts to restructure its steel sector.

Prices have been supported in recent months by restocking and short-term supply disruptions, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie told reporters Thursday in Brisbane following the company’s annual meeting. Iron ore has jumped 66 percent this year to rebound from three straight annual declines, while coking coal has surged about 295 percent.

China’s determination to push through with restructuring in its steel and coal sectors, and the nation’s increasing willingness to favor imports over domestic material, has buoyed prices alongside other short-term catalysts, according to Mackenzie.

Editorial: What a Trump presidency means for US miners – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – November 15, 2016)

November 17, 2016

http://www.northernminer.com/

Mining’s contribution to the recent U.S. presidential election was nicely captured in the interactions of the two leading candidates with coal miners in the Appalachians.

In March 2016, Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, in touting her support of Democrat-friendly alternative energy industries, memorably told a town hall meeting in the hard-hit coal-mining state of West Virginia that “we’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.”

She later apologized for the comment. (Clinton ended up losing the state to Donald Trump, despite its substantial union presence, garnering only 26% of the vote compared to Trump’s 69%, and well off Barack Obama’s 36% tally in the 2012 presidential election.)

Climate Change and Trump’s America – by Gwynne Dyer (Gwynne Dyer.com – November 14, 2016)

November 17, 2016

http://gwynnedyer.com/

Even before Donald Trump hijacked the Republican Party, he was loudly declaring that the science of climate change, like Barack Obama, had not been born in the United States. It was, he insisted in 2012, a Chinese hoax “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”

The implication is clear. Back in the late 1980s, when climate change was first publicly identified as a threat, those sneaky Chinese must have bought or blackmailed prominent Western leaders and scientists to perpetrate this hoax. People like NASA scientist James Hanse, who made a landmark speech to Congress on global warming in 1988, and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who spoke at the United Nations about it in 1989.

Some other people, especially in the coal, oil and automobile industries, have been denying the reality of climate change for decades, but only The Donald realised it was a Chinese plot. (He does have a big brain, as he frequently points out.) At the time, most grown-ups wrote him off as a harmless crank – but they certainly have to take him seriously now.

The Coal Industry Isn’t Coming Back – by Michael E. Webber (New York Times – November 15, 2016)

November 16, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

Austin, Tex. — Donald J. Trump made many important campaign promises on his way to victory. But saving coal is one promise he won’t be able to keep.

Many in Appalachia and other coal-mining regions believe that President Obama’s supposed war on coal caused a steep decline in the industry’s fortunes. But coal’s struggles to compete are caused by cheap natural gas, cheap renewables, air-quality regulations that got their start in the George W. Bush administration and weaker-than-expected demand for coal in Asia.

Nationwide, coal employment peaked in the 1920s. The more recent decline in Appalachian coal employment started in the 1980s during the administration of Ronald Reagan because of the role that automation and mechanization played in replacing miners with machines, especially in mountaintop removal mining. Job losses in Appalachia were compounded by deregulation of the railroads.

How China’s bid to curb coal output has backfired, encouraging production and increasing mining accidents – by Sidney Leng (South China Morning Post – November 16, 2016)

November 16, 2016

http://www.scmp.com/

Government efforts to curb coal production capacity in China have backfired, according to analysts, driving up prices, encouraging production and increasing the risk of mining accidents in the rush to produce more of the fuel.

A rise in electricity production last month, mainly produced by coal-fuelled power stations, is also contributing to the smog smothering much of the north.

The government wants to reduce the amount of coal produced as part of attempts to reduce the economy’s previous reliance on heavy industry and cheap manufacturing in favour of the service and high-technology sectors. The curbs in coal production, however, have led to shortages of the fuel and a rally in prices, encouraging higher production.

Australia’s Addiction to Coal – by Richard Denniss (New York Times – November 14, 2016)

November 15, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

CANBERRA, Australia — A world determined to limit climate change needs fewer coal mines. Burning coal is the largest single source of greenhouse-gas emissions, and the particles from its combustion are a major cause of air pollution, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.

Despite agreeing to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions at a global climate-change conference in Paris last year, the Australian government has recently given the go-ahead to a private company to open Australia’s biggest coal mine. The state government has declared that the new mine, owned by the Indian Adani conglomerate, is a piece of “critical infrastructure.”

Australia is big in coal. It has a larger share of the export market than Saudi Arabia has of the oil market. Since world leaders agreed in 1992 that climate change was real and that fossil-fuel consumption must decrease, Australian coal exports have more than tripled — from around 125 million tons a year to about 388 million tons.

RPT-COLUMN-Trump may not be able to save U.S. coal miners – by John Kemp (Reuters U.S. – Novmeber 10, 2016)

November 14, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – Nov 10, 2016 – Donald Trump’s election has thrown an apparent lifeline to beleaguered coal producers but he may not be able to do much to revive the fortunes of the industry. The U.S. coal industry has been a victim of the shale revolution and the enormous quantities of cheap gas that have been unleashed by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.

There is not much a future Trump administration can do to protect coal producers, who have mostly been the victim of economic forces rather than politics and the Obama administration’s “war on coal”.

U.S. coal production has fallen by almost a quarter from 1,171 million short tons in 2008 to just 897 million short tons in 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Electricity produced from coal declined by nearly 32 percent between 2008 and 2015 and coal’s share of total power generation has sunk from almost 50 percent to just one-third.