SunCoke Energy to scale down coal production

US based SunCoke Energy is planning to reduce annual production of coal by 50%/yr and cut 175 jobs due to the low price.

The company, which produces coke used in steelmaking, is expected to minimise its coal production to 500,000 tpy from 1.1 million tpy.

However, it will continue to mine about 500 000 t of coal.

SunCoke Energy Chairman and CEO, Fritz Henderson, said, "While we plan to continue pursuing opportunities to sell all or a portion of our coal mining business, the challenging coal price environment has led us to make these hard decisions.”

"However, idling a significant portion of the coal mining business is the right step going forward and allows us to focus on our core competencies of processing and handling raw materials for industrial customers," Henderson said.

For SunCoke Energy, which currently operates mines in Virginia and West Virginia, this decision will see one-time cash costs of between US$25 million – US$35 million.

Meanwhile, the company is also planning to sell it business completely or partially. It now seeks to hire contractors to mine coal or acquiring coal for its 720 000 t Virginia Jewell Coke facility.

As per the records of 2013, the company employed about 1344 people in US and around 233 employees at its cokemaking facility in Vitoria, Brazil.

Like many coal mining firms, the company is looking to reduce its workforce by around 175. 

Edited from various sources by Sam Dodson

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/16122014/suncoke-energy-will-scale-back-coal-production-1689/