Coal

Federal Minister for Industry and Science, the Hon Ian Macfarlane MP opens Whitehaven Coal’s surface coal mine at Maules Creek in Australia.

Dakota Westmoreland Corp. enters into an extension of its long-term coal supply agreement with Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. to supply coal from the Beulah mine to the R.M. Heskett power plant.

Neville Bergin completes agreement with Wardell Armstrong International to represent the engineering, environmental and mining consultancy in Australia.

According to a report from the US Energy Information Agency, US coal mining productivity increased in 2013, as a result of large mines improving productivity, developments in mining technology and closures of small mines.

Mechel, a leading Russian mining and metals companies, signs a three-year agreement for coal supplies with JFE Steel corp., an Asian steel mill.

The Indian School of Mines and Curtin University will launch the Australia-India Joint Research Centre for Coal and Energy Technology, which will work on technology development for energy with a focus on clean coal technologies.

The World Coal Association welcomes Dr Fatih Birol as the new Executive Director of the International Energy Agency.

The World Coal Association urges Bonn climate negotiators to take positive action to promote low-emission technologies.

A round-up of some of this week’s key news items from the international coal industry, from the latest sales and acquisitions to updates on coal production.

India’s coal consumption is overtaking domestic production and the government has set a coal production target of 1.5 billion t by 2020. The US Energy Information Administration looked at ways to meet this.

JFE Steel Corp. orders a fourth vertical roller mill, LM 28.3 D, which produces pulverised coal for injection into the blast furnace, from Loesche for its integrated iron and steel works in Fukuyama, Japan.

Total has announced that it has closed the sale of its South African coal mining assets, following government approval of the divestment.

Cloud Peak Energy enters an agreement with a local landowner near the Cordero Rojo Mine to access additional coal reserves and potentially develop the mine.

Indian thermal coal imports at major ports jumped 24% y/y from April – July, despite a government push to increase domestic production.

BHP Billiton has announced underlying earnings from its coal business of US$348 million in the twelve months to 30 June 2015.