Mining

The Sandvik board of directors have fired company President and CEO Olof Faxander, replacing him with current head of Wärtsilä.

A forecast from BMI Research on Botswana’s mining sector through to 2019 indicates diamond production and a growth in coal will support the sector but a lack of diversity may leave the country vulnerable to growing competitors.

BMI Research has forecast Polish coal mining to grow in the coming years, yet only a limited amount. But this will keep Poland a significant player in the European coal market.

A round-up of some of this week’s key news items from the international coal industry, from outlooks on the Clean Power Plan to the latest project developments.

Arch Coal will pay a US$2 million civil penalty and upgrade its Clean Water Act compliance systems under a settlement with the US Environmental Protection Agency and US Department of Justice.

New World Resources has announced the deaths of three miners at its OKD 1 underground coal mine in the Czech Republic.

Rio Tinto’s coal business have reported net earnings of US$25 million in the first six months of the year, down over 60% on the previous year.

Patriot Coal has issued layoff warnings to over 1000 of its workers in Kanawha County, West Virginia, as part of its agreement to see many of its assets to Blackhawk Mining.

The federal court overturns the Abbot government’s approval of Adani’s opencast and underground coal mine in Galilee Basin in Central Queensland, Australia.

Glencore has started ‘business rescue proceedings’ – the South African equivalent of bankruptcy – at its Optimum Coal business after dispute with Eskom.

Buffalo Coal has reported a roof fall at its Magdalena coal mine in South Africa with raw coal production stopped in two of the four working areas.

Stanmore Coal has bought the shuttered Isaac Plains coal mine from is owners, Vale and Sumitomo, for AUS$1.

No. 3 coal miner in the US, Alpha Natural Resources, has filed for bankruptcy at a court in Richmond, Virginia.

Arch Coal has reported a loss of US$168 million in 2Q15 and expects coal consumption to drop 80 million short t in 2015.

Rhino Resources lost US$8.1 million in 2Q15 as low coal prices, poor rail service at Hopedale mine and low productivity at Pennyrile hit the bottom line.