Weekly coal news wrap up: 24 October 2014
It is the time of the week again when we at World Coal take a look back at the week’s news.
First up is the potentially explosive news that India may be on the verge of allowing commercial coal mining. The measure was included in a decree aimed at cleaning up the mess left in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel the allocation of 214 coal mining licenses. No time frame was included and the measure is sure to face stiff oppositions from unions.
India’s northern neighbour, China, seems to be playing games with Australia. Having surprised many with the introduction of import tariffs on thermal and metallurgical coal, the country’s finance minister has reportedly told Australia’s treasurer, Joe Hockey, that it could avoid these by signing a proposed free trade agreement, as Indonesia (Australian biggest rival) already has done.
In the US, Pennsylvania Governor has signed into law allowing the state legislature to review any carbon reduction plans the state’s Department of Environmental Protection puts forward with under the EPA’s clean power regulations. “The law “will provide the necessary broad perspective to ensure that economic and energy-related questions are answered in a comprehensive manner,” said the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance (PCA).
In equipment supplier news, Caterpillar and Metso reported weak sales from their mining businesses – Cat’s were down 19% with profits down a thumping 62%. The company blamed slow demand, rising costs and a lower pricing environment for the figures.
Finally, Alan Thompson takes a look back at this year’s European Conference on Coal Research and Application, which took place in September at the University of Hull in the UK. Highlights included a keynote on the future of coal in the UK with sessions focusing on topics including carbon capture and storage, biomass co-firing, low-rank coal and IGCC.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/24102014/world-coal-weekly-coal-news-wrap-up-24-october-2014-coal1448/
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