Powder River Basin (PRB) coal miner, Cloud Peak Energy, is offering a “voluntary separation benefit” to long-serving members of staff, a company spokesperson has confirmed to World Coal. The package has been offered to hourly employees 65 yrs of age or anyone 55 yrs of age with a minimum of 10 yrs service.

The move is part of “our ongoing efforts to manage our workforce as production rates have declined from previous years,” Rick Curtsinger, Director of Public Affairs at Cloud Peak told World Coal in a emailed statement. The company did not say how many workers were eligible for the scheme.

The US coal industry is facing significant headwinds as demand has slumped this year on the back of low gas prices, warm winter weather and high stockpiles at utilities. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), coal production was 43.4% lower for the week ending 9 April than the comparable week in 2015.

Year-to-date, US coal production is almost a third down on production in 2015.

The slump has seen Cloud Peak Energy’s competitors in the Powder River Basin – Peabody Energy and Arch Coal – announce layoffs. At the end of March, Peabody said it would lay off 235 from its North Antelope Rochelle mine, while Arch Coal reduced its workforce at its Black Thunder mine by about 15%. Both companies are currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Cloud Peak Energy – which avoided the debt-funded acquisitions binge during the boom years that has been the downfall of the top three US coal companies – “remains well positioned to weather this current period of oversupply and has been reducing production in response to decreased demand, while also implementing cost-saving measures, including increased in-house maintenance work, across the company,” Curtsinger continued.

The company would continue to “evaluate the most efficient way to implement production adjustments and minimize any impact on employees,” Curtsinger concluded.

Last year, the company announced that it has renegotiated its transportation agreements with rail operator, BNSF, and Candian port, Westshore Terminals, to eliminate volume obligations for the period 2016 – 2018.

Cloud Peak Energy owns three opencast mines in the Power River Basin: the Antelope and Cordero Rojo mines in Wyoming and Spring Creek mine in Montana. It lost US$204.9 million in 2015 with coal shipments falling by over 10 million t to 75.1 million t.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

April 19, 2016

Weir Minerals has strengthened its crushing and screening expertise in Europe with the appointment of a new dedicated Product Manager for comminution equipment.

Sebastian Rakoczy has joined Weir Minerals’ growing dedicated comminution team and will be responsible for supporting the expansion of the company’s presence across Europe, North Africa and Kazakhstan.

Sebastian has joined from Sandvik. He has 8 years of engineering and sales experience to the role.

The appointment follows Weir’s acquisition in 2014 of crushing and separation equipment manufacturer Trio Engineered Products, which significantly extended its product portfolio in crushing, grinding and screening.

Sebastian Rakoczy said: “This is an exciting time for Weir Minerals, having transformed in recent years into a full spectrum solutions provider for the mining and quarrying industries, not only manufacturing a comprehensive range of minerals processing equipment, but also offering a robust aftermarket support network. Warman pumps are the reference point for quality for many minerals processing applications, and our ambition is to continue building the same reputation right across the product range. Modern minerals production places more emphasis on efficiency than it did in the past and we have the quality of products, the on-site engineering experience and the strength of service support network to help our customers achieve the equipment performance they need to maximise output.”

“Weir Minerals has developed an enviable portfolio of clients, including many of the biggest names in mining and aggregates, and I’m looking forward to helping to broaden these existing partnerships, as well as attracting new customers to discover what we have to offer,” Rakoczy continued.

Tony G. Locke, Managing Director of Weir Minerals Europe, added: “Sebastian has a wealth of experience, and we’re confident he will help ensure that we continue to deliver world-class products and service to our customers, helping them get market-leading return on their equipment investment.”

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Modular Mining Systems (Modular) and RungePincockMinarco (RPM) have announced a strategic alliance to deliver an integrated solution to bridge the gap between planning and operations for elevated precision and optimised efficiencies to enhance mine productivity. The alliance builds on RPM’s expertise in planning and scheduling and Modular’s expertise in systems integration and mine management solutions.

It is hoped that this alliance will support bi-directional communication between RPM’s XECUTE® ultra-short term planning and HAULSIM®haulage simulation software, with Modular’s DISPATCH® Fleet Management and ProVision® High-Precision Machine Guidance solutions.

“Modular has always recognised the benefits of building relationships with organisations whose innovative technologies and unique perspectives expand upon our own,” said Luiz Steinberg, President and CEO at Modular. “We are committed to improving efficiency across the mining value chain, and this relationship with RPM will bring to market a greatly enhanced, streamlined mine management solution that delivers greater gains to our customers by closing the gap between planning and execution.”

The integrated solutions will allow mines to monitor progress to plan and proactively respond to operational challenges that are inevitable in a mining operation. Compliance to plan will improve, allowing the operation to deliver the correct material to the correct location at the correct time, resulting in a continuous workflow with production optimised to meet planned delivery capacity.

The companies aim to create a mining framework based on the ISA-95 Business to Manufacturing Markup Language (B2MML), which facilitates the sharing of data among systems.

“The strategic collaboration with Modular is a critical part of our strategy,” said Richard Mathews, CEO of RPM. “When we set out three years ago to deliver Enterprise solutions ‘below the line’ with mining companies our vision was clear. RPM is changing the goalposts around how mining companies extract value from their mining value chain. We are not a technology company working on products delivering more desktop, siloed solutions. We are delivering to mining companies enterprise-wide, collaborative solutions that enable a step-change in mining operations and this collaboration is a leading example.”

Both companies will be at MINExpo 2016 in September.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Hexagon Mining has introduced a services organisation to help customers get the most from their technology investment. Hexagon Mining Services aligns all services under the three pillars of Deployment, Training, and Consulting, which aim to help mines continuously improve across the planning, operations, and safety spectrum.

“Just as Hexagon Mining is integrating solutions, it makes sense to integrate Services under one roof,” said Matt Desmond, Vice President Services-Operations. “It’s part of our commitment to helping every site improve by fulfilling its technology investment for the life of mine.

“Services bridges the gap between technology, people, and processes. We connect by streamlining deployment and ensuring that technology infrastructure is used to its potential. Our training and consulting deliver return on investment and measure performance for continual improvements.”

Staffed by experienced mining professionals, Services offers an intimate understanding of the challenges facing mines, added Desmond.

“As mining conditions change, processes and people mature, and technology advances, improvements can always be found.”

Deployment services include project management, system installation, change management, software updates, and scoping studies.

Under Training, customers can access needs analysis, accreditation programs, coaching, and mentoring.

Consulting offers system health checks, business process mapping, improvement analysis, maturity assessments, and analytics.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Swedish utility Vattenfall is to sell its loss-making German lignite business to a consortium comprising Czech energy company, Energetický a prumyslový (EPH), and its financial partner, PPF Investments.

EPH already owns lignite assets in Germany through its MIBRAG subsidiary, which operates the Profen and Vereinigten Schleenhain opencast mines with production of more than 20 million tpy.

This experience meant EPH was “well positioned to assume the responsibilities related to the ownership of Vattenfall’s lignite assets,” said EPH board member, Jan Špringl. Vattenfall’s operations and MIBRAG will be operated separately.

EPH will take on €3.4 billion of assets and €2 billion of liabilities and provisions, including those for decommissioning and recultivation. In addition, Vattenfall will provide about €1.7 billion in cash as part of the transaction, EPH said.

Vattenfall’s lignite operations are the second largest in Germany and include the opencast mines at Jänschwalde, Welzow-Süd, NOchten and Reichwalder, as well as the power plants at Jänschwalde, Schwarze Pumpe and Boxberg. The company also own one unit at Lippendorf power plant, which EPH already supplies from its MIBRAG Vereinigten Schleenhain mine. The combined installed capacity of these plants is 8 GW with a total of 7500 employees.

“This divestment of our lignite assets is good strategically but also financially given current and expected market conditions,” said Magnus Hall, Vattenfall’s President and CEO. “We are now accelerating our shift towards a more sustainable production. The sale means more than 75% of our production will be climate neutral compared to about 50% today.”

The acquisition is subject to approval by the Swedish government. Closing and change of ownership is expected in 3Q16.

The lignite operations have been losing money as a result of a policy shift towards renewables and away from nuclear power and fossil fuels. This has resulted in a collapse in German electricity prices as cheap renewable power has been given priority feed-in to the country’s electricity grid.

Over the past five years, German wholesale power prices have slumped by two-thirds from €60/MWh to just €20/MWh – sending the profit margins of energy companies into freefall.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

A global leader in conveyor technology has resolved excessive carryback problems on the conveyor systems of the largest gold mine in the Dominican Republic, by installing several heavy duty belt cleaning systems. The Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corp. (PVDC) observed large amounts of carryback at discharge points. Martin Engineering replaced the existing equipment with primary and secondary belt cleaners at sixteen discharge points, which increased production, reduced downtime and lowered the cost of operation.

“We lost nearly US$250 000 in revenue due to clogged pulleys and headers from abrasive dust and belt fouling in the first year,” explained Ed Power, General Process Maintenance Superintendent at PVDC. “We decided to invite a team of experts from Martin Engineering to assess the problem.”

Production is 365 days a year, however between April and October the area can receive as much as 6 ft (183 CM) of precipitation. Moisture can cause cohesion in fine clay particulates, which reacts to load pressure, causing it to stick to the contact surface. According to Mike Lenart, Mechanical General Supervisor for PVDC, “The substance had the consistency of thick toothpaste, which was also able to adhere small chunks of aggregate to the belt, causing a destructive carryback that wreaked havoc on our pulleys and headers. It was a mess.”

In two weeks, Martin Engineering replaced the existing belt scrapers with Martin QC1™ Cleaner XHD primary cleaners and DT2H™ secondary cleaners, which can handle speeds of up to 1200 ft/min on belts as wide as 96 in. and pulley diameters of more than 30 in. (762 mm). Installers fitted them with low-adhesion urethane blades specifically designed for sticky and tacky material.

“The curved scraper is designed in sections, adjusted individually to conform to the belt, assuring continuous contact across the belt profile,” said Alfonso Granata, General Manager of PeGran, the local dealer and service agent for Martin Engineering products. “Martin Engineering manufactures a wide range of different cleaning blades, which specifically address the chemical make-up of almost all types of conveyed bulk materials.”

Sixteen Martin DT2H secondary belt cleaners accompanied the primary units to mitigate belt fouling. The units were equipped with tungsten tipped urethane blades, which are suited for heavy-duty applications. To avoid product loss due to fugitive material, the Martin Engineering team also installed 300 ft of ApronSeal™ Skirting constructed from 70 durometer EPDM rubber composite for its low abrasion index characteristics.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

The Queensland state government has banned underground coal gasification (UCG) “because of its environment impacts”.

In a media statement from the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Anthony Lynham and the Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection Steven Miles, said the ban would be immediate and would be followed by a “legislated ban before the end of the year”.

“We have looked at the evidence from the pilot operation of UCG and we’ve considered the current technologies with Queensland’s environment and our economic needs,” said Lynham. “The potential risks to Queensland’s environment and our valuable agricultural industries far outweigh any potential economic benefits.”

One of the companies involved in the UCG pilot, Linc Energy, was recently committed to trial on five counts of willfully and unlawfully causing serous environmental harm – a result of the “largest and most expensive case ever handled by [Queensland’s] environmental regulator,” said Miles.

Linc Energy announced on 15 April that it was entering voluntary administration in a move environmental campaigners have claimed would enable to company to avoid paying any potential fines arising from the legal action.

The ban was, however, criticised by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC), which said it was “very disappointed” by the move.

“This unexpected announcement of another commodity ban without the release of the triggering evidence can only raise concern for business confidence and investment in this state,” QRC Acting Chief Executive, Greg Lane, said in a statement.

“QRC therefore calls on the government to make public the complete set of evidence it now apparently has that shows the environmental risks of UCG projects of any kind are too high.”

The QRC also raised concerns over the impacts of the ban on work undertaken by Carbon Energy, whose UCG technology was development with CSIRO, Australia’s premier research organisation, with oversight by an Independent Scientific Panel (ISP). The ban could prevent Carbon Energy from commercialising its technology in other jurisdictions that allow UCG.

For its part, the company said it was surprised by the ban, saying it had recently had discussions with “several ministerial staff” with regards its successful completion of the ISP technology project. It added that it was “currently seeking further information in regard to the announcement” before making a formal response.

Carbon Energy is the only company to “successfully complete the rigorous recommendations for the state government appointed ISP”, the company added, and has invested over AUS$150 million in the technology.

UCG involves the conversion of in-situ coal into a syngas feedstock for processing on the surface into various petrochemical products, such as aviation fuel and synthetic diesel.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Australian Pacific Coal continues to work to secure financing for its purchase of the Dartbrook coal mine from Anglo America, despite the recent departure of its big-name CEO.

The company recently appointed a new CEO following the departure of Nathan Tinkler after he was declared bankrupt in March. Individuals that have been declared bankrupt at barred from holding company directorships in Australia.

According to the company, new CEO John Robinson has “progressed in securing the outstanding funding necessary for the completion of the company’s acquisition of the Dartbook Joint Venture.”

Funding requirements include facilities to buy out Anglo American’s joint venture partner, Marubeni Coal, should the Japanese company elect to sell.

The company also said that it was now “actively managing the transition process to enable the smooth handover of the mine”, including planning for the restart of underground mining operations.

Dartbrook is a thermal coal mine located in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales with access to the coal export infrastructure through the port of Newcastle.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that the cost of compliance with its controversial Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) is “reasonable” and poses no threat to the electric power industry’s ability to provide reliable power to consumers at a reasonable cost.

The findings come in response to a Supreme Court decision last year that ruled that the EPA should have included an assessment of compliance costs when preparing the MATS regulation.

This ruling “completes the EPA’s response to the Supreme Court’s direction,” the agency said.

The EPA’s finding was criticised by the US Chamber of Commerce, however, which accused the agency of continuing it ‘bait-and-switch’ approach.

“Even after a resounding rebuke by the Supreme Court, it appears the EPA will continue to use their ‘bait-and-see’ approach to regulating businesses and the energy sector,” said the US Chamber’s Senior Vice President of Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs, William Kovacs.

“In reality, this agency is driving up energy costs for Main Street and consumers with a regulation that was implemented under the guise of false promise.”

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Sterlite Ports, a subsidiary of Indian diversified resources company Vedanta Ltd, is to redevelop the existing berths 8, 9 and barge berths at the Port of Mormugao in Goa, India.

The redevelopment will take place on a develop, build, finance, operate and transfer basis for a concession period of 30 yrs.

The redeveloped berths will handle a variety of cargo, including iron ore and coal, with an expected capacity of 19.22 million tpy. The redevelopment work will be completed over a period of 3 – 5 yrs.

Vedanta Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of London-listed Vedanta Resources, is the largest exporter of iron or from Goa.

This project would provide logistic integration to our iron ore business apart from handling other cargo,” the company said in a press release.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Australian underground coal gasification (UCG) developer, Linc Energy, has gone into voluntary administration, according to a company announcement. Administratiors from PPB Advisory were appointed effective 15 April.

Last month, the company was committed to stand trial over alleged environmental damage caused by its UCG trial in Queensland – an accusation the company denies. But an environmental grous has criticised the company’s move into administration as an attempt to avoid paying any potential fines from the legal action.

“The company at present has a woefully inadequate rehabilitation bond with the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection and by going into administration, it will avoid having to pay the increase bond the department is wanting it to pay,” said the Lock the Gate Alliance in a press statement.

“They will also avoid having to pay any fines incurred from a likely successful prosecution against them for causing significant environmental harm, which could be up to AUS$56 million, and will also avoid having to contest any potential class actions by farmers affected by Linc’s UCG project.”

Linc Energy’s businesses include onshore oil and gas operations in the US, oil and gas exploration in the Ackaringa Basin in South Australia, and the development and deployment of its UCG technology in a number of locations, including Asia and Africa.

“The administrators are working with the company’s management team to fully understand the options available to the company, which may potentially include a restructure of the company at an appropriate time,” the company statement said.

The Queensland government recently announced a ban on UCG development in the state, citing risks to the environment and the state’s agricultural industries.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

bauma 2016 saw a record number of exhibitors with approximately 580 000 visitors from 200 countries to Munich between 11-17 April. A total of 3423 exhibitors from 58 countries presented their products, developments and innovations on a record 605 000 m2 of exhibition space.

Klaus Dittrich, Chairman & CEO of Messe München, commented: “The response from the participants this year was amazing. The visitors at bauma always come looking to invest, but this year the exhibitors’ order books filled up much faster than expected. Many exhibitors are talking about a record level of demand at bauma 2016. And that is an extremely positive sign in this current uncertain climate.” Johann Sailer, Chairman of the VDMA Association for Construction Machinery and Building Material Machines, agrees: “bauma is the ideal platform for presenting innovative new developments, because it has a big impact in the industry around the world. Again in 2016 the world’s largest show of construction machinery will deliver impetus for further growth in our sector.”

As well as breaking records in terms of exhibitor and visitor numbers and exhibition space, bauma is also a great place for filling the order books. Stefan Heissler, a member of the Board of Directors of Liebherr-International AG, confirms: “bauma 2016 was a tremendous success for Liebherr. We received many orders from a wide variety of different markets. In some segments our expectations were even exceeded.” For Michael Heidemann, Vice-Chairman of the Management Board of Zeppelin, noted “that bauma 2016 has once again shown everyone that it does indeed boost innovation and it has lived up to its reputation for being the leading trade fair.”

Jürgen and Stefan Wirtgen, Managing Partners in the Wirtgen Group, added: “bauma as the leading trade fair has always been a kind of barometer for the industry and from the start it had a very special significance for our company. Our presentation at this year’s bauma is the most successful so far in the history of the company.” The mining section at bauma also received a very positive response in this context, as Erwin Schneller, Managing Director of SBM Minerals, reports: “bauma is very international. We had visitors from Chile to Canada, from China to Russia, from Africa to Norway. My personal highlight was that we signed up some unexpected sales at the show.”

This 31st edition of the World’s Leading Trade Fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines, Construction Vehicles and Construction Equipment is top of the class. Alexander Schwörer, Managing Director of Peri, agreed: “For us bauma 2016 was a tremendous success. We are very satisfied with the response and with the high quality of the trade visitors.”

The next bauma takes place from 8 – 14 April 2019 in Munich, Germany.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Thiess has received a three-year contract extension by PT Teguh Sinar Abadi and PT Firman Ketaun Perkasa (members of the Bayan Group) to continue operations at Melak Coal Mine, in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The contract, with revenue of $180 million, continues Thiess’ mining development and operations at the site through to December 2019.

CIMIC Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Marcelino Fernández Verdes, said: “Thiess’ global platform enables them to deliver safe, efficient and productive outcomes for clients across a variety of geographical locations.”

Thiess Managing Director, Michael Wright, added: “The Melak contract extension is a testament to our performance at the mine since 2008. We are pleased to extend our partnership with the Bayan Group and continue our focus on delivering innovative and sustainable mining solutions for our client.”

The contract extension follows Thiess’ recent 14-month contract award for underground mining at BHP Billiton Nickel West’s Leinster 1A orebody.

The Leinster 1A underground development and sub-level open stoping contract is focused 900 m underground and builds on the same innovative contracting model provided for the adjacent Rocky’s Reward open-cut mine in Leinster Western Australia.

Mr Wright said: “The Leinster 1A underground nickel mine contract cements our footprint in the goldfield region of Western Australia, further demonstrating our underground mining capability.”

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

The Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) indigenous people of Queensland have authorised an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with Adani Australia for the Carmichael coal project. The ILUA was authorised at meeting of the W&J people and comes after a W&J group last week said it would challenge the granting of the mining licences for the Carmichael project in court.

The W&J Family Council challenged the approval of the mining leases by the Queensland government, arguing that the leases were approved without the consent of the W&J people.

When the legal challenge was announced, Adani criticised it as being ‘politically motivated’ and not representing the opinions of the majority of the W&J people – a view now given support following the vote to approve the ILUA. It is unclear where this legal challenge now stands following the vote.

“Adani welcomes today’s democratic vote by the W&J to authorise an ILUA with Adani,” the company said in a statement posted to its Facebook page.

“Today’s clear decision follows earlier determinations by traditional owners spanning the length of the company’s mine, rail and port projects […] to work with Adani in building sustainable and ongoing partnerships that see the benefits of these projects are shared by all in the broader community.”

The vote marks another stage in the development of Carmichael project, which includes a planned 60 million tpy coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, as well as rail line and coal export facilities at Abbot Point. Earlier in the month, the Queensland government approved the mining leases for the project.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Advanced Emissions Solutions Inc. has announced that W. Phillip Marcum will retire from the Board of Directors, effective immediately. The company has appointed L. Spencer Wells to fill his former position as Chairman of the Board.

“On behalf of the Board and the entire organisation, I would like to thank Phil for his many years of dedicated service to ADES and its stockholders. As Chairman of the Board, Phil played a vital role in navigating our many hurdles and laying the foundation for the future. I have personally enjoyed working with him and wish him the best in his retirement,” commented L. Heath Sampson, Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of ADES. “Additionally, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Spencer Wells as Chairman of the Board. Spencer brings extensive knowledge in the capital markets and significant experience within the Energy, Chemicals and Building Products sectors. We look forward to his enhanced contribution to the Board and the Company moving forward.”

Phil Marcum added: “The Company’s strategic direction is starting to come together under the strong leadership of Heath Sampson and his team. I believe that Spencer and Heath will work very well together as they complete the remaining steps in the Company’s transformation.”

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

The port of Antwerp has announced it has handled 53 265 552 t of freight in the first three months of 2016, which is a 3.9% y/y increase.

The container volume in TEU did particularly well with growth of 4.6%, while liquid bulk rose to new heights with growth of 10.6%. Overall, last month was the best month ever recorded in the port of Antwerp in terms of freight volume handled.

The Port Authority is naturally very pleased with these excellent growth figures but nevertheless guards against unbridled optimism in view of the continuing volatility and turbulence in the market.

The amount of dry bulk handled in the port totalled 2 943 871 t, a 17.9% decrease compared with 1Q15. In the meantime the falling demand for coal resulted in a negative first-quarter result in this sector, falling very sharply by 81.1% to 69 975 t. The planned conversion of the coal-fired power station in Langerlo (Belgium) weighed heavily on the result, but ports in general where coal is stored are faced with falling imports and declining stocks. The volume of ore handled also fell significantly, down 33.9% to 465 796 t, helping to push down the overall result for dry bulk.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

The project to widen the longwall face at Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri mine is on schedule and on budget, according to the company’s most recent quarterly report. The project will see the longwall face widened by 100 m to 400 m.

According to the company, components for the underground equipment are currently being manufactured in several countries, while surface works – including stockpile capacity extension and electrical upgrades – are progressing on schedule.

Mining of the newly widened panel – panel LW07 – is expected to start in the first half of the 2017 calendar year.

Production of saleable coal at Narrabri in 1Q16 was 2.127 million t – an 18% increase y/y and despite ROM coal production falling 6% to 2.056 million t on difficult ground conditions in a section of the LW105 longwall panel.

Production LW105 is expected to conclude in mid-May with longwall production forecast to restart in June. The mine remains on track to meet production guidance for FY16 of 6.6 – 6.8 million t ROM coal.

The company also said that the mine had hosted visits from a number of new thermal coal buyers from Asia, who were currently trialling coal from both Narrabri and its sister mine, Maules Creek. Contracts with these new buyers are expected to be concluded this calendar year.

Whitehaven owns a 70% stake in Narrabri with Japanese power company, J-Power, energy trading company, EDF Trading, and Upper Horn Investments, a subsidiary of Chinese power generator, Guangdong Yudean Group, owning 7.5% stakes. The remaining 7.5% is owned by Korean companies, Daewoo International Corp. and Korea Resources Corp.

Thermal coal from Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek operation achieved an 8% premium over the globalCOAL NEWC Index price in 1Q16. Maules Creek only began commercial operations last year; it produces high-energy, low-sulfur and low-ash thermal coal for the Asian export market.

According to the company’s quarterly report, Maules Creek coal achieved an average price of US$51.56 per tonne compared to US$50.46 per tonne average index price.

Whitehaven owns 75% of the mine with ICRA MC – an entity associated with Itochu Corp – holding a 15% stake and J-Power a 10% stake. The mine is located in the Gunnedah Basin of New South Wales, Australia.

The company also said that a number of new thermal coal buyers from Asia had visited Maules Creek and Whitehaven’s Narrabri mines and are trialing the coals. The company expects contracts to be executed with these new buyers this year.

Production ramp up at Maules Creek continued over the quarter with production reaching 1.057 million t of ROM coal and 1.97 million t of saleable coal. Production for FY16 is on track to hit 7.6 million t ROM coal and 7.4 million t saleable coal. Sales of Maules Creek coal were 2.066 million t.

The company has also ordered mining equipment to ramp up production further to 10.5 million tpy. This will arrive onsite in 1HFY17 (July – December 2016) and be operational by January 2017.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland

The bankruptcy court has approved Peabody’s first-day motions to allow the company to continue to pay employees and its service providers through its Chapter 11 process. The court also approved on an interim basis the US$800 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing facilities by a lender group led by Citigroup.

The DIP financing includes a US$500 million term loan of which US$200 million is available immediately, a US$200 million bonding accommodation facility and a cash-collateralised US$100 million letter of credit facility.

“We are pleased with this first positive step forward in our Chapter 11 process and the support we have received since out filing from our employees, customers, suppliers and many other stakeholders has been highly encouraging,” said Peabody President and CEO, Glenn Kellow.

The bankruptcy proceedings include the companies US operations. Its Australian businesses are not included in the filings and are continuing as usual.

The company announced it was entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on 13 April. Further hearings will be held in May to issue the final orders regarding the company’s first-day motions, including final approval of the DIP financing.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

The Count on Coal initiative has launched a new online resource to demonstrate the economic impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan on individual states.

CostlyPowerPlan.com features an interactive map of the US that enables the public to see the higher costs incurred by each state, as well as assess nationwide costs associated with this plan designed to make the nation’s power supply more expensive and less reliable.

By bringing to light facts that the administration has sought to bury, the site will be especially useful to state leaders who are encouraged to put down their pencils and halt their state’s efforts to impose a federal regulation recently stayed by the Supreme Court.

CostlyPowerPlan.com provides information for state officials, businesses and ratepayers who are interested in finding out more about how EPA’s rule will affect both their finances and power supplies.

Count on Coal is an advocacy programme supported by NMA.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Despite executive orders and directives requiring federal agencies to cut red tape, a lack of incentives to do so has resulted in “costly inaction”, the National Mining Association (NMA) has concluded after a review of regulations imposed on mining and other businesses by the Obama administration since 2009.

“While businesses must continue to abide by such regulations or face the risk of incurring government sanctions, there is not reciprocity with federal agencies that are free to either ignore or adhere superficially to these executive orders,” said NMA President and CEO, Hal Quinn.

While commending the executive orders on improving the regulatory process as “sound principles for balanced regulatory policy,” Quinn recommended codifying them in law in order to ensure implementation by the US’s large number of regulators.

Quinn, who was speaking to the Congressional Task Force on Regulatory Reform, also noted that the total regulatory burden on the US economy exceeded US$2 trillion – or 12% of GDP – in 2012.

“Obviously, if well done, regulations can protect the public, the environment and the marketplace,” concluded Quinn. “But if done poorly, as has been too often the case here, they must be avoided or repealed before adding more harm to the economy.”

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has criticised the latest legal challenge to Adani’s Carmichael coal project and called for the reform of Queensland’s approvals process.

“We could almost hear an audible groan from regional Queenslanders today when they heard that Adani is facing yet another legal roadblock after already having been the subject of multiple legal actions,” said QRC Acting Chief Executive, Greg Lane, in a statement.

The legal challenge by the Wangan and Jagalingou Family Council in the Federal Court of Australia is the latest in a string of legal challenges to the project and comes after the Queensland government said it would approve the mining permits for the Galilee Basin coal mine.

“Anti-coal groups were already calling for donations to fund an appeal well before they had calculated on what legal grounds they could do so,” continued Lane. “Therefore, it comes as no surprise to us that within a week an appeal is being lodged.”

In response, the QRC has repeated its call on the Queensland state government to overhaul the approvals system to ensure that projects are no longer subject to “onerous delays that are holding up job-creating project”.

The Carmichael project would see the construction of a huge 60 million tpy coal mine with associated rail and port infrastructure. The mine would project thermal coal for export.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Whitehaven Coal achieved record ROM coal production in 1Q16 – up 21% y/y on and 44% year to date. According to its most recent Quarterly Report, the company produced 5.7 million t ROM coal.

Whitehaven also recorded its highest quarterly saleable coal production of 5.3 million – up 28% y/y and 48% year to date. Total coal sales were 5.5 million t – also a record, 48% higher than 1Q15 and 53% year to date.

Production at Maules Creek reached 2 million t ROM coal for the quarter. The next stage of production ramp up at Maules Creek to 10.5 million tpy will begin in 2017.

Located in the Gunnedah Basin in New South Wales, Maules Creek has been in commercial operation since 1 July 2015.

The company said it was on track to meet FY2016 guidance for saleable coal of 19.5 million t and 20.1 million t.

The value of Australia’s resource and mining sector exports are forecast to increase by 35% by 2020 – 21, according to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’s Resources and Energy Quarterly, as continuing urbanisation, growth in manufacturing and infrastructure investment in Asia maintains demand growth for Australia’s coal, iron ore and other minerals.

Coal exports are expected to grow by 5.3% over the timeframe compared to 2014 – 15. Volumes of iron ore, uranium, gold and alumina will also increase.

“With mining continuing to be a major economic contributor with approximately 10% of Australia’s gross domestic product, it is critical that further steps are taken to remove obstacles to further mining investments and improve competitiveness and productivity,” said Brendan Pearson, Chief Executive of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA).

Recent MCA research shows that reducing the levels of company tax is of particular importance. “Australia had be sixth highest company tax rate among 34 OECD countries in 2015 compared with the 14th highest in 2005,” continued Pearson.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) and its members have declared their support for a carbon price to address climate change, calling it “the most effective and efficient means of driving emissions reductions.”

“Today, one of Canada’s largest industries is coming out in support of a carbon price,” Pierre Grafton, President and CEO of the MAC said in a statement. “MAC’s support of a carbon price is guided by our principles for climate change policy design and it based on 16 years of our members continuous efforts to reduce emissions through technology and innovation and become more energy efficient.”

The MAC has also released a series of principles to inform the design of a carbon price regime. These state that a carbon price regime should be revenue neutral, should address competitiveness and carbon leakage concerns and recognise early action from companies and provinces that have already established climate change mitigation strategies.

Total greenhouse gas emissions from the Canadian mining industry make up about 1.1% of the country’s direct and indirect emissions, although this does not include coal and oil sands mining for data is not available.

“The Canadian mining industry’s efforts over the past two decades in reducing emissions and protecting the environment has been significant, underscoring the industry’s commitment to being part of the solution,” said Gratton. Fighting climate change and meeting emissions targets will require a concerted global effort, and MAC and its members are determined to be constructive partners,”

An group representing the indigenous Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) people have lodged an appeal against Adani’s Carmichael coal project in Queensland, Australia. The legal action is the latest in a long list of court battles that has held up development of the Galilee Basin project.

The application by the W&J Family Council in the Federal Court of Australia challenges the mining leases for the project, arguing that the leases were issues without their consent and after they had three times rejected an Indigenous Land Use Agreement with Adani.

“We have formerly rejected this disastrous project three times,” said W&J spokesperson and traditional owner, Adrian Burragubba. “In this light […] issuing the mining leases is a shameful episode in the trashing of Traditional Owners’ rights by the exercise of government power.”

In response, Adana Mining Australia said that the group challenging the mining leases was a “minority element as opposed to the wider group of 12 authorised applicants of the W&J people” and accused the group of bringing a “politically motivated” challenge.

“Within minutes of the government’s announcement that the mining leases would be granted, activist groups were announcing they would challenge the decision – and intent to appeal both before the leases were granted and before reasons for the leases being granted had been seen,” the Indian company said in a statement.

The company added that is was working “constructively and respectfully with the full group of W&J applicants” to finalise an Indigenous Land Use Agreement.

By REUTERS

April 13, 2016

Mongolian-focused coal exploration company, Aspire Mining, has announced total JORC coal resources of 12.85 million t at its Nuurstei coal project.

The Nuurstei project is owned by the Ekhgoviin Chuluu Joint Venture with Noble Group. It is located in northern Mongolia with transpot links to the city of Erdenet and connection to the Trans Mongolian Railway.

Preliminary coal quality testing indicated the widespread presence of hard coking coal at Nuurstei.

“While tonnages falling into the JORC resource catagories are modest, the Nuurstei project presents as a commercial-scale pilot project for logistics and market development for Ovoot and other coking coals from northern Mongolia,” said Aspire’s Managing Director, David Paull.

“It can also provide commercial-scale rail freight cargoes onto the Northern Rail Line to iron our logistical teething problems before the much larger volumes from the Ovoot coking coal project need to be dealt with.”

Aspires’s larger Ovoot project is located about 160 km west of Nuurstei. The company is also developing a rail link to the projects – known as the Northern Rail Line – through its subsidiary, Northern Railways.

CSX Corp. has announced its 1Q16 net earnings of US$356 million, which equates to US$0.37/share, down from US$442 million, or US$0.45/share, in the same period of last year.

“As we managed through the impact of the continued coal decline and other market forces during the first quarter, CSX took aggressive actions to improve efficiency, reduce costs and streamline resources across the network to further reshape the company,” said Michael J. Ward, Chairman and CEO.

Revenue for the quarter declined 14%, reflecting lower fuel recovery, a 5% volume decline and a US$95 million y/y decline in other revenue related to payments received in 2015 from customers that did not meet their minimum volume commitments.

Expenses decreased 12%, driven by efficiency gains of US$133 million and lower volume-related costs of US$64 million as CSX reduced its cost structure in the face of the challenging market environment. In addition, the reduction in the price of fuel decreased fuel expense by US$78 million for the quarter.Including the impact of these cost savings and the decline in other revenue, operating income decreased US$139 million to US $704 million. At the same time, the operating ratio increased 90 basis points year-over-year to 73.1%.

“While CSX delivered strong efficiency gains in the first quarter, we continue to expect full-year earnings per share to decline in 2016 as a result of ongoing coal headwinds combined with other market fundamentals,” said Ward. “At the same time, CSX remains focused on meeting and exceeding customer expectations while driving further efficiency savings to maximise shareholder value and achieve a mid-60s operating ratio longer term.”

CSX executives will conduct a quarterly earnings conference call with the investment community on 13 April 2016, from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM Eastern time. Investors, media and the public may listen to the conference call by dialling 1-888-EARN-CSX (888-327-6279) and asking for the CSX earnings call. Callers outside the US, dial 1-773-756-0199.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

China’s latest Five-Year Plan will be detrimental coal imports, according to BMI Research’s Global Commodities Strategist, John Davies, with policies to promote cleaner electricity generation hitting the coal-fired power sector.

The plan includes policies to increase the use of cleaner fuels and lower carbon emissions – including the implementation of a nationwide cap-and-trade scheme by 2017. This will see declines in coal-fired power in 2016 and 2017 with only slight annual increases thereafter.

“Restrictions on imported coal will […] remain, such as unofficial import quotas on state-owned power plants, coal import tariffs, decreased coal export tariffs and stringent quality checks on imported coal,” Davies said in a recent report. This will see China’s thermal coal imports capped at a similar level to the 108 million t registered in 2015.

On the metallurgical side, consolidation in the steel industry will result in overall demand falling. BMI Research expects further falls in metallurgical coal imports on the back of a 21.5% fall in the 112 months to February 2016.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

L.D. Spence

Many times a day at a busy power plant in Ohio, a barge unloads onto a fast moving belt. The familiar noisiness of a speeding conveyor belt being loaded should be reassuring, but when the load zone is losing material, dust is clouding the impact area and components are covered with escaped product; it is clear that adjustments need to be made as soon as possible.

The preceding scenario, productivity coupled with real problems, played out continuously at this large power plant. This led to extreme inefficiency, safety risks, environmental concerns and wear-and-tear on equipment. A growing frustration with standard solutions led the client to contact Richwood to request an evaluation of their application. The details of the application and the resulting recommendations are outlined in the following.

The power plant uses 48 in. belts running at 750 ft/min. and 2000 tph for clean coal.

The challenge

The immediate concern was the safety hazard created by escaping material. Extreme pressure was blowing out the material and shooting it up the belt line. In spite of best efforts, dust and debris were not sealed or controlled in the load zone.

When evaluating a loading area, it is critical to keep in mind the fundamentals of successful load zone design. It is not enough to chase ‘symptoms’ by focusing on the smaller details, though they are important. For a real solution, it is necessary to examine the big picture – and that means considering a load zone from the ground up.

If a checklist was to be made, a well designed and working load zone would have to include the establishment of:

• Constant belt elevation.
• Proper belt support.
• Impact protection.
• Containment of bulk material.
• Wear protection.
• Sealing of dust and fines.
• This application was no different.
• The first step

The first step in building a reliable load zone is to make sure that constant belt elevation is established with full idler contact in empty running mode. Evaluation of this extremely important first step revealed that the tail pulley of the conveyor was positioned above centre elevation of carrying idlers, preventing the belt from contacting the centre roller of the first several carrying idlers. The tonnage being conveyed – and the incorrect belt support elevation – caused the belt to rise and fall depending on varying load, allowing continual spillage, while the conveyor was in operation. Without correction, the skirting system would never seal as it should. Even though the belt was properly tensioned and had sufficient quantity of carrying idlers, it did not have a stable, consistent plane of support.

According to CEMA standard 575: “the belt must be fully transitioned with properly fitted transition idlers before the entry into the impact bed.” To build a successful load zone, “the belt must be fully troughed”.¹ On Richwood’s recommendation, the tail pulley was adjusted to CEMA guidelines for full trough transitions. This means that the top of the pulley was relocated to the same elevation as the top of the idler centre roll (Figure 1). With this arrangement, the belt elevation will not change in normal operations. Achieving this type of transition was step one in the fundamentals for success. In some installations, lack of distance from the tail pulley to the first troughing idler may prevent a full trough transition. This relationship may require both vertical and horizontal adjustments to establish correct full trough transition distance and pulley elevation correction.

Figure 1. CEMA illustration for proper trough transition.

C.J. Ferguson, the Richwood Engineering Group Manager involved in this project, observed: “Because this crucial first step had been previously overlooked, this load zone had become a source of great frustration to the client. They had diligently followed the recommendations of industry texts and even attended well-known training sessions. All of this effort at great cost, with little to show for it. Experience has taught us to master the fundamentals. It sounds simple but it is often overlooked and it was key to building this load zone properly.” In attempts to remedy the situation the operator had made numerous investments. They had rebuilt the transfer chute, put in a combination of skirting clamps and rubber, installed steel kick plates and added ceramic tile to attempt to contain material and control spillage. Unfortunately all of these investments were made without addressing the root cause of the spillage problem: lack of proper belt support and profile through the load zone.

The next step

After finding the discrepancy in the belt elevation, Richwood looked at the next two important components of a working load zone: belt support and impact protection. Once the belt was correctly profiled, Richwood Impact Saddles®, Cushion Arc Idlers® and edge seal supports were installed to protect the belt from material impact damage and provide a continuous support surface for the containment components.

Impact saddles are designed to be a direct replacement for impact idlers and feature a smooth full-belt-width surface without gaps or sharp angles. CEMA Standard 502 can help determine the duty rating needed for idlers based on the impact energy. For help with proper component selection, CEMA uses the idler class rating to determine the corresponding dimensional class of the impact bed/saddle.¹ Impact saddles with edge seal bars provide continuous support directly under the seal surface of the skirtboard system to facilitate a positive seal on top of the belt where Canoe Liners® and skirting will be applied.

The next step in creating a safe load zone is to provide wear protection combined with bulk material sealing. Canoe liners provide this wear resistance and contain bulk material flow. Richwood canoe liners are available in rubber or rubber/ceramic matrix. For this application, canoe liners with R2000 rubber were recommended.

The final step

Lastly, successful load zone design needs to seal dust and fines. External skirtboard sealing components manufactured using high-quality bevelled rubber with a user-friendly attachment system for ease of maintenance are ideal to contain smaller particles. The new skirting system replaced one of the operator’s former investments: a skirting system that never sealed the load zone and was attached with a bolt-on rail, discouraging maintenance. The maintenance of the previous system required loosening bolts every 6 – 8 in. to free the skirt sections so they could be adjusted.

To complete the dust control requirement in this load zone, the new skirtboard system was designed and furnished fully covered, incorporating multiple dust stilling chambers and dust curtains to create a fully contained, dust free load zone.

John Bishop of Richwood worked directly with the operator’s maintenance staff. He stated: “The facility has a great crew. They did all that had been recommended and worked hard to make it right. We wanted to provide a lasting solution, not just throw conveyor accessories at the problem.”

According to Bishop, “they were especially pleased with the ease of use of the skirt liner system. No one enjoyed loosening all of the bolts on the old liners.” He added: “Before we started, it was difficult to work in the basement of the building where the tail area is located and needed cleaning regularly. Now the area is free of debris and requires much less maintenance.”

Conclusion

Remembering the fundamentals of load zone design may seem elementary, but as shown, they can be costly to ignore. CEMA offers standardised recommendations for bulk material handling. These standards, along with an experienced engineering team and quality components, can help operations optimise productivity. The client at this power plant now has a reliable, sealed and protected load zone. They are saving time on cleanup and material loss, as well as providing a safer work area.

References

1. Belt Conveyors For Bulk Material, 7th Ed, (CEMA; 2014).

In a new study appearing in the April issue of Applied Geochemistry, researchers from Duke University demonstrate that the level of oxygen in a coal ash disposal site can greatly affect how much toxic selenium and arsenic can be leached from the system.

“The tests that the Environmental Protection Agency relies on consider variables like the pH of the water, but they don’t look at whether the system is aerobic or anaerobic,” said Heileen Hsu-Kim, the Mary Milus Yoh and Harold L. Yoh, Jr. Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “We wanted to demonstrate that oxygenation actually matters a lot, especially for arsenic and selenium.”

Following the 2014 coal ash spill into North Carolina’s Dan River, what to do with other aging coal ash retention ponds is frequently questioned.

Duke Energy currently plans to dig up 24 of its 36 ponds in the Carolinas, however, the 12 remaining ponds without a cleanup plan hold more than 70% of the 108 million t of ash held in North Carolina ponds.

One option is to essentially turn the ponds into a landfill by removing the water, capping the remaining waste with a top liner and covering it all with soil.

“Some of these ponds did not have bottom liners when they were originally constructed, so they’ll be susceptible to leaking to groundwater even if they are covered on top,” said Hsu-Kim, who also holds an appointment in Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. “When you cap a site, you’re separating it from air. And if the buried waste goes anaerobic, it could enhance the leaching of some elements, leading to more contamination than expected.”

In the study, Hsu-Kim and her graduate student Grace Schwartz set up a series of microcosms to investigate how much arsenic and selenium leached out of the system both with and without oxygen. Both contaminants are potential problems for aquatic wildlife, and arsenic can be cancerous to humans.

The tests showed that with oxygen, the levels of selenium leaching are much higher than that of arsenic. But that trend flips when the system becomes anaerobic – there is an increase in the leaching of arsenic and a decrease for selenium.

Hsu-Kim stated that this result is not surprising given the chemistry of the two elements, and previous projects not related to coal ash sites have demonstrated these results in the real world. The study points out that this could be happening in coal ash sites as well.

“I’m trying to figure out if anyone is thinking about the fact that they’re changing the oxygen conditions within the ash site by covering it,” said Hsu-Kim. “This research suggests that some of the proposed methods for ash ponds closure in North Carolina may not be a slam dunk solution to the problem.”

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (CBET-1235661) and the Environmental Research and Education Foundation.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Consumers Energy has congratulated Michigan State University (MSU) on its transition from coal to natural gas as the energy source for its main campus power plant.

“Michigan is at a historic time, making the transition from coal to cleaner forms of energy. We are pleased to play a role in Michigan State University’s transition, providing the natural gas that will fuel the T.B. Simon Power Plant,” said Garrick Rochow, Consumers Energy’s Vice President and Chief Customer Officer.

“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our friends at MSU to help them ‘Go Green,’ meeting the needs of their campus and academic community sustainably.”

MSU President Lou Anna Simon announced today that the university will fuel the Simon power plant with natural gas. Consumers Energy is playing an important role in the transition, upgrading its natural gas system to ensure the plant has a reliable fuel supply.

Consumers Energy has been taking other steps to meet MSU’s long-term energy needs:

• Building the new Spartan Substation that will provide backup power to the campus when it goes into service later this year. It ultimately will power the university’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, which is under construction.
• Through its energy efficiency programs, Consumers Energy has provided MSU with rebates worth over US$1 million toward projects that reduce energy use.
• MSU and Consumers Energy are working together on a two-year pilot program to explore how storage batteries can be used to improve system reliability.

“Consumers Energy’s relationship with Michigan State University represents the type of collaboration we do every day with businesses large and small across Michigan,” Rochow said. “We also share an interest in finding new solutions to our state’s energy needs, to develop new energy sources and help people use power more efficiently.”

Consumers Energy is retiring its seven oldest coal plants, reducing the company’s carbon footprint by 25% and air emissions by 40%.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

The largest coal miner in the US, Peabody Energy has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following rivals Alpha Natural Resources and Arch Coal. The company said it was taking the step to “strengthen liquidity and reduce debt amid an unprecedented industry downturn.”

The company filed for bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Its Australian operations are not included in the filing.

“This was a difficult decision but it is the right path forward for Peabody,” said the company’s President and CEO, Glenn Kellow, in a press release. “We begin today to build a highly successful global leader for tomorrow.

Peabody’s bankruptcy filing comes after the company failed to complete the sale of its Colorado and New Mexico assets to Bowie Resource Partners. It had hoped the cash from the sale would keep it from the bankruptcy court.

The sale of the El Segundo, Lee Range and Twentymile mines fell through after Bowie failed to raise the required financing.

Despite the current industry woes, the company was positive about the future of coal in the US and globally, noting that there were multiple third-party projections that show a stabilising of US and global coal demand.

“A company like Peabody with safe, efficient operations, will be well positioned to serve coal demand that will continue in the US and around the world,” Kellow said.

The company also said that the bankruptcy process would not change its approach towards restoration of mining sites, aiming to allay fears that it would not be able to meet its reclamation obligations.

Peabody, along with its competitors, Arch Coal and Alpha Natural Resources, made multi-billion dollar debt-financed bets on metallurgical coal when prices for the steelmaking material were over US$300 per tonne. Since then, prices have collapsed and demand in China failed to live up to expectations, leaving the companies unable to service their huge debt piles.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.