Special reports

With some signs of recovery in the mining industry, the focus of mining companies should be shifting to ensuring they have the best talent available to succeed in the future markets of higher demand.

Talk of the demise of Australian coal production is largely political, not economic.

Indian electricity generation growth set to soar in the next few years driving demand for imported coal, while China’s coal imports will fall away.

The US coal industry is facing unprecedented challenges and many US coal companies facing a real cash squeeze. Is it time for them to look abroad to start looking abroad to ensure their survival.

The most powerful leaders in the West used the G7 summit in Germany to make a big statement on the environment. Their stated goal is to end all fossil-fuel use by 2100. Prof. Paul Younger explains why that's unlikely to happen.

With a number of mining majors threatening to pull out of the South African coal mining industry, political moves to declare coal a strategic mineral, and Eskom facing serious financial difficulties, the challenges facing the industry are mounting up.

Ensuring black empowerment is a key part of the South African government's attitude towards the mining sector, which has been long dominated by white men. But what this means in practice is still debated.

Taiwan imported about 52 million t of thermal coal in 2014 with volumes expected to grow 2.5% per year on average to 2019.

With prices remaining low and mines up for sale around the world, Stephen Duck, CRU, looks for the M&A opportunities in the metallurgical coal market.

The coal mining industry is a significant user of water, making proactive water management a vital part of mine planning.

With its economy in a funk and political interference an increasing problem, South Africa continues to be a challenging and unpredictable place for mining companies to do business.

News headlines have been dominated by stories of financial companies, sovereign wealth funds and other institutions divesting their holdings in the coal industry. But such moves will not bring an end to global coal use.

Power sector reforms are a top priority for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his government likely to focus on reforming the power distribution segment and boosting the country’s energy independence.

Despite a new tax on coal imports and emissions trading market, South Korea’s coal outlook remains promising.

Following its post-Fukushima nuclear shutdown, Japan boosted its use of coal, seeing imports reach 211 million to in 2013. But demand is now falling amid speculation that some nuclear plants may be allowed back online.