Arch Coal has acquired the South Hilight coal lease in the southern Powder River Basin (PRB) for US$ 300 million. The lease is contiguous with the company’s existing Black Thunder mines and contains high CV, low sulfur coals.
Peabody Energy will increase its production at the Wilpinjong and Millennium mines in Australia after expansions at both sites were completed. It is expected that the increased production will allow the company to supply an additional 3 – 5 million tpa to the Asian seaborne market.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its Medium-Term Coal Market Report 2011, which predicts that the global demand for coal will grow over the next five years as a result of surging energy demand in emerging economies.
Mozambi Coal, an Australian coal exploration company with assets in Mozambique, has released an update on recent activities at the company’s Songa, Tete West and Muturara projects. The projects are located in the Zambezi coal basin where a number of major resources companies, including Rio Tinto and Vale, are also active.
Whitehaven Coal will acquire Aston Resources in a AU$2.5 billion takeover that will create Australia’s biggest independent coal miner.
Mark Major, Hodges Resources Ltd, Australia, explains how the company’s thermal coal assets are boosting Botswana’s development as a manufacturing and economic hub.
The progress of Botswana’s coal industry has been slow, with decisions being put back and projects stalled. Barry Baxter looks at the reasons for the delays.
Peabody Energy has acquired a 5.1% equity interest in Winsway Coking Coal Holdings Ltd
Anglo American has approved the development of the Grosvenor metallurgical coal project in Queensland, Australia. The project is situated immediately south of the company’s Moranbah North coal mining and is expected to produce 5 million tpa of coal over a period of 26 years.
Ncondezi Coal Co. Ltd has announced the results of studies on its Ncondezi project that examined the suitability of using middlings and low volatile coals for local power generation and coal gasification. The use of these products would represent not only in operating costs but also “significant additional revenue” for the company, according to Graham Mascall, CEO of Ncondezi Coal Co.
Rio Tinto has completed the divestment of its Colowyo mine, a thermal coal mine located in western Colorado, US, to Western Fuels-Colorado LLC.
November 2011: Kay Sever examines methods for getting the most out of company meetings.
Steel maker ArcelorMittal has made an unexpected last-minute withdrawal from its US$ 5 billion joint bid for control of Macarthur Coal, leaving joint venture partner Peabody Energy to proceed with the takeover alone.
China’s economy faces a strong headwind from power shortages and rising coal costs. Ng Weng Hoong assesses the threats.
Wood Mackenzie’s Near-Term Market Outlook cautions of falling metallurgical coal prices from now to Q4 2012, dropping from the current quarterly price of US$ 285/t for premium metallurgical coal to under US$ 240/t.