Semirara halts coal exports

Following a fatal landslide at the Panian mine on 17 July, Semirara Mining and Power Corp., a unit of Philippine comglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc., has been under scrutiny and the Department of Energy suspended operations at the mine.

Subsequent to halted mine operations, Semirara is now suspending coal exports (which account for the majority of its revenue) to ensure continued supply for local power generation and cement production.

The government is assessing the impact of the closure of the mine on power supplies. This includes the potential of importing coal as a stop-gas measure.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has provided the company with another suspension order. The DENR said Semirara would not be able to resume mining operations at Panian until it implemented measures that would prevent such accidents from happening again.

The company has commented: "The concerned government authorities have our full cooperation and we will do everything we can to manage our limited coal inventory to avert possible supply disruptions to our local power plant and cement customers."

Following the announcement, shares in Semirara decreased as much as 9.6% to the lowest in 17 months.

It has lost more than a fifth of its value since the accident. Parent DMCI has fallen more than 5%.

Semirara said in a statement: "We have notified our foreign customers that we cannot schedule further shipments until DOE reaches a decision on the suspension of our mining operations.”

Edited from source: Reuters  by Harleigh Hobbs

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/22072015/semirara-halts-coal-exports-2607/