Universal Coal plc has begun refurbishment of the coal handling and processing plant (CHPP) at NCC in anticipation of commencement of processing thermal coal in September 2016. NCC will become Universal’s second coal operation following its Kangal coal mine, which recorded ROM coal on excess of 2 million t last financial year.
In an ASX announcement the company indicated that Ingwenya Mineral Processing Ltd has been nominated as the onsite CHPP contractor responsible for the recommissioning and future operation of CHPP requirements at NCC.
Mining operations are expected to start in September 2016 at the Diepspruit shaft area in line with timing of the CHPP recommissioning process.
Weighbridge infrastructure has already been installed in anticipation of coal product flows before the end of the 2016 calendar year.
According to Universal Coal, negotiations with potential off-take partners, including Eskom, are reaching an advanced state with final assessment and selection of nominated off-taker to occur shortly.
Funding of the return to operations of NCC will initially be covered on an equity basis from existing cash reserves. However, discussions continue with existing debt providers for the enlarged Universal Coal Group.
The Uitkomst coal mine helped to boost Pan African’s yearly earnings following the company’s purchase of the mine in April for ZAR 176 million from Oakleaf Investment and Shanduka Resources.
According to Pan African’s annual results, Uitkomst contributed 0.14 million t of coal to the company’ production mix, which also includes gold from the Barberton and Evander mines and PGEs from the Phoenix Platinum subsidiary.
Between 1 July 2015 and 29 February 2016, Uitkomst produced 0.4 million t of ROM coal and 0.3 million t of saleable coal. It has an estimated 28 years life of mine.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
North American Coal reported an operating profit of US$4.8 million in 2Q16 on revenues of US$23.1 million. This represents a year-on-year doubling of the company’s operating profits, despite a fall in revenues from US$37.9 million in 2Q15.
Sales were relatively stable, totaling 7.3 million short t of coal delivered compared to 7.4 million short t in 2015.
At the end of 2015, the company ceased mining operations at its Centennial operation in Alabama. Centennial had lost US$6.5 million in 2Q15 on earnings of US$11.9 million. In 2Q16, Centennial’s operating loss was significantly reduced to US$1.9 million.
Excluding Centennial, the company reported an adjusted operating profit of US$6.7 million and adjusted revenues of US$22.8 million in 2Q16 compared to an adjusted profit of US$8.9 million and adjusted revenue of US$26.9 million in 2Q15.
The fall in adjusted operating profit during 2Q16 resulted from higher selling, general and administrative expenses from higher employee-related costs and professional fees, as well as fall in royalties and other income and lower operating results at the company’s consolidated mining operations.
Looking ahead and the company expects and increase in its coal sales compared to 1H16. Despite this, the company is forecasting a fall in income in the second half of the year due to an expected fall in income from its Mississippi Lignite Mining Co. subsidiary, where the cost of sales is predicted in rise.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s operations were all cash flow positive in 1H16, according to the company’s half-yearly results, despite a fall in year-on-year coal prices. Thermal coal prices averaged US$51 per tonne, while hard-coking coal prices averaged US$81 per tonne.
For the six months to 30 June, Rio Tinto Coal Australia reported earnings of US$213 million on revenues of US$1.13 billion, the company said, down from US$270 million last year.
Rio Tinto Coal Australia forms part of the Energy & Minerals business at Rio Tinto, which also includes its iron ore, uranium and industrial minerals operations. Overall, the Energy & Minerals reported revenues of US$2.96 billion and earnings of US$531 million.
The company reported hard coking coal production of 3.8 million t, an 8% fall on 1H15, reflecting a longwall changeover at Kestral coal mine. Semi-soft coking coal rose 8% reflecting the restructure of the Coal & Allied business and mine production sequencing at Hunter Valley Operations and Mount Thorley Warkworth.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Cokal is expecting its IUP mining licence for the Bumi Barito Mineral (BBM) coal project in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, to be completed by the end of the year, according to its 2Q16 quarterly update, after its was signed by the district government and forwarded to the provincial mines department for issue.
Cokal has also submitted its application for the Clean and Clear Certificate Exploration from the Director General of the National Mines & Energy Department, formalising the previous award of Clean and Clear status.
The BBM underground mining project contains a total resource estimate of 266.6 million t of metallurgical coal – including 90% coking coal and 10% PCI coal. A recent updated report showed the deeper coal resources were amenable to extraction by thin-seam longwall mining methods.
Both coking and PCI coals from three of BBM’s coal seams – B, C and D – would be suitable for direct-to-ship extraction due to its very low ash content. The area covered by the coal resource estimate is 30% of the total BBM Production IUP tenement licence.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Luber-finer® has launched a new mobile app that makes identifying the right filtration technology for light commercial and heavy-duty applications – and locating where to obtain it – both easy and convenient. The new app, which can be downloaded for free on iOS- and Android™-powered smart phones and tablets, puts all of the information users need to find a Luber-finer filter right at their fingertips.
“For people who work in the heavy-duty industry, searching for filters via a desktop PC isn’t always convenient,” said Layne Gobrogge, Director of Heavy Duty Marketing. “The new app provides drivers, technicians, fleet maintenance managers and parts distributors the tools they need to quickly look up filter parts and search for Luber-finer distributors who carry them.”
The new Luber-finer app features a user-friendly display that is optimised for viewing and interaction on mobile devices. Designed to be streamlined and practical, the app offers users these tools:
Luber-finer has provided filtration for heavy-duty vehicles since 1936. They offer various filters for heavy-duty vehicles used in the coal mining sector.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Acacia Coal Ltd has appointed Brett Lawrence to the board as a Non-Executive Direction, effective as of 2 August 2016.
Lawrence has over 12 years of experience in the resource industry, including seeking new venture opportunities with ASX-listed companies. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Tamaska Oil and Gas Ltd.
Additionally, Brett Mitcheel has resigned asa Director in order to pursue other business interests.
The board has offered its sincerest thanks to Mitcheel for his contribution to the company in his role as a Non-Executive Director.
The new board of Acacia includes Adam Santa-Maria as Executive Chairman and Logan Roberson and Brett Lawrence both as Non-Executive Directors.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Canadian coal junior, Jameson Resources, has been refunded its reclamation bond for the Dunlevy project, having completed its reclamation of the site.
The company received the full amount of the CAN$35 000 bond amount, which had been held as security by the British Columbia provincial government, after the province’s Ministry of Energy and Mines inspected the reclamation work and accepted it without exception.
Dunlevy comprises 2534 ha. of approved exploration licences in the Peace River Coalfield in northeast British Columbia. The company conducted an exploration programme on the site in 2014 but no further actions are planned until the current coal market improves.
Other than annual rent, there are no ongoing expenses associated with Dunlevy. The company is now directing its efforts to the Crown Mountain metallurgical coal project in southeast British Columbia.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
RCT were able to retrofit a Caterpillar D8R with remote technology after other remote companies said it was virtually impossible.
In order to adhere to America’s Mine Safety and Health Administrations (MSHA) new regulations to remove operators from dozers pushing coarse coal refuse into a tailings pond, Alliance Resource Partners looked to remote its two dozers at its River View Coal mine in Uniontown, Kentucky, US.
While its Caterpillar D6T was a straight forward installation, its older model, Caterpillar D8R, was more complicated and deemed virtually impossible by other remote technology companies.
However RCT was unconvinced. With a reputation for being able to adapt its technology to any machine, it was keen to rise to the challenge and retrofit its ControlMaster® Line-of-Sight Remote Dozer System (ATX2200).
This was successfully completed by RCT’s Custom team – a dedicated projects team with the resources and expertise to find the answers to problems and adapt current systems.
While the deployment of the remote system to the D6T dozer was standard, the D8R required extensive hardware to be fitted in order to achieve all functions remotely.
This feat was not only a first for the RCT team, but most likely the first D8R to be put on remotes ever before.
RCT Custom Projects Manager John Androvich described the D8R installation as an extremely challenging job; however this didn’t discourage him and the team from tackling it head on.
“It was a massive task as the D8R was about 15 years-old so it was all mechanically driven, whereas most new models we deal with today are now electric,” said Androvich.
The process required a collaborative approach; with the Custom team engaging with RCT’s development team, a hydraulics specialist and a machinist to hand-make some of the components.
The project required the team to convert the machine to electric, before converting it to hydraulic and then back to mechanical in some instances.
Androvich credited his experienced team for the success of the job as the mechanical aptitude required to understand the machine was extensive.
“We are lucky to have such an experienced team here at RCT, so we were able to draw on this extensive experience to create something that other remote companies said was virtually impossible,” he said.
RCT has received extremely positive feedback about the job carried out at River View Coal.
“The D8R is an older machine and was a much more intense installation – they did a really good job in setting it up and within a couple of weeks it was up and going,” said River View coal mine Engineer Mark Henshaw.
“We have been told that the 15-year-old machine is now the preferred machine of use – we got a fair buzz out of hearing that! It’s a definite credit to the team,”concluded Androvich.
The installation of the ControlMaster® Line-of-Sight remotes to the dozers it allowed operators to remotely control the dozers; pushing slurring into the tailing pond, from a safe distance, on stable ground, abiding by the MSHA’s new regulation.
The Caterpillar D8R loader is now equipped with a remote thanks to RCT.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Wallarah 2 Coal Project has placed amended plans on display for public comment after failing to get Aboriginal Land Council approval of its original proposal. In 2014, the New South Wales Land & Environment Court had ruled that the project was subject to Aboriginal Land Council consent.
The new proposal avoids impact on Aboriginal land and thus removes the need for Aboriginal Land Council consent, said Wallarah 2 Coal Project Manager, Kenny Barry. It also reduces environmental impacts.
The amended plans redesign to coal transportation infrastructure and sewer connection for the project. The original rail loop is removed and the rail spur and train loadout are relocated. The conveyor system has also been extended to deliver coal to the new location of the train loadout.
Other aspects of the project remain the same, explained Barry: “The proposed mining area, mining methods and maximum production rates remain the same. Coal handling and rail loading methods remain the same. Other surface infrastructure remains the same. The construction schedule remains the same. The operational and construction workforce and capital investment value remain the same.”
The amended plan would also reduce the area of disturbance of bushland at the Tooheys Road site by 29%, added Barry.
The project is located about 5 km northwest of Wyong, which is roughly half way between Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales. It includes a longwall coal mine with associated facilities running for 28 years with extraction of up to 5 million tpy of export-quality thermal coal.
The project is majority owned by Kores Australia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Korea Resources Corp., a state-owned mining and investment agency of South Korea. Minority interests are held by Sojitz Coal Resources, Kyungdon Australia, SK Networks Resources Australia (Wyong and SK Networks Resources.
Edited Jonathan Rowland.
The United Nations (UN) has accepted the Global CCS Institute as a member of its Global Compact (UNGC).
The UNGC is an international platform consisting of many thousands of business and non-business entities spanning 145 countries to address climate change and promote clean energy technologies, among other sustainable development goals.
Being a participant in the UNGC will allow the Institute to more closely engage in the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative.
SE4ALL is the UN’s clean energy flagship, and it presents a key advocacy opportunity for the Institute to better inform the UN system on carbon capture and storage (CCS) matters.
CEO of the Global CCS Institute, Brad Page, said the Institute’s acceptance to the UNGC would provide the Institute with a new opportunity to describe how CCS contributes to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in addition to supporting the achievement of the ambitious climate goals agreed in Paris in December 2015.
“In order to meet the demanding targets of the Paris Agreement in the real world, we’ve got to reduce emissions from every possible sector of the global economy, and we’ve got to do it urgently and without bias,” said Page. “Globally, the energy sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions … This is particularly challenging for developing nations that are striving to develop essential infrastructure in a carbon-constrained world.”
“The UN system continues to rightly support renewables and energy efficiency, as adopted in its SE4ALL objectives, but it must equally turn its attention to addressing the emissions from thousands of existing fossil fuel assets.”
“CCS is vital to limiting these emissions, as well as those emissions that could effectively be locked into the future pipeline of power projects already approved to 2030,” Page continued.
“Even replacing unabated coal power with gas is insufficient for the world to limit greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to meet its own nominated targets. Gas-fired power plants still require CCS in order to realise their full emissions reduction potential,” explained Page.
The importance of CCS in tackling climate change has been long-recognised by the UN. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Synthesis Report, released in November 2014, highlighted the importance of CCS as a vital climate mitigation technology. Without CCS, the cost to avoid a global warming of more than 2°C would likely increase by 138% – more than double.
The Global CCS Institute believes achieving the Paris Agreement’s stated goal of ‘well below 2°C’ will require even greater deployment of CCS, in part because one quarter of the world’s CO2 emissions result from industrial process emissions for which CCS is the only technology that can deal with most of them.
“The Institute takes its advocacy efforts in the UN system and UNFCCC very seriously, and is demonstrating this by publicly committing to support and advance the principles of the UNGC,” said Page.
“We will continue to strongly engage in the UN system in the pursuit of evidence-based advocacy to represent the policy case for CCS in the context of climate change mitigation, concluded Page. “We are very pleased to be able to expand our engagement network to include the UNGC to complement our already extensive affiliations within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.”
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has successfully commissioned the second 500 MW thermal unit at Marwa thermal power plant TPS) in Chhattisgarh, New Delhi, India.
Located in Janjgir-Champa district of Chhattisgarh, Marwa TPS has been set up by Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Co. Ltd. (CSPGCL). BHEL previously commissioned the first unit at Marwa TPS.
BHEL’s scope of work in the contract envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of steam turbines, generators and boilers, along with associated auxiliaries and electricals, besides state-of-the-art controls & instrumentation (C&I) and electrostatic precipitators (ESPs).
BHEL has been working with power projects of CSPGCL (and the erstwhile Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board), since the 120 MW Korba TPS Extension-I was commissioned in March 1976. BHEL has a share of 94% in the installed capacity of CSPGCL and has so far commissioned 11 thermal sets and 3 hydro sets for the state utility.
In Chhattisgarh, BHEL has contributed a total of 12 500 MW to the state’s installed power generation capacity, including Central and Private sector utilities.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
The New South Wales (NSW) Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) has approved Centennial Coal’s extraction plan for the Springvale coal mine extension project after receiving advice from an independent panel of experts.
The independent panel was convened as a condition of the NSW Planning Assessment Committee’s approval of the project last year. The panel reviewed and provided advice to the DPE on the mine’s extraction plan for Longwall 419.
Approval of the extraction plan comes with strict conditions for Centennial to follow to ensure swamp vegetation is appropriately monitored for impacts. These include the establishment of a range of sensors, including drilling additional monitoring boreholes at a number of the swamps and installing swamp moisture monitoring systems to track whether mining impacts are remaining within approved measures.
DPE has also required Centennial to lodge an additional ASU$2 million offset bond to cover any potential impacts to the swamps.
Springvale mine began commercial operations in 1992. Located in the Western Coalfields of New South Wales, the mine produces thermal coal for the domestic power market and for export via Port Kembla.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Westmoreland Coal Co. has announced improved 2Q16 results compared to the same period in 2015 with a net loss of US$25.4 million compared to US$36.6 million in 2Q15. Revenues also rose to US$356.3 million compared to US$349 million in 2Q16.
Quarterly coal sales totalled 12 million short t, down from 13.3 million short t in 2015. US coal sales totaled 4.7 million short, while Canadian sales were 5.6 million short t. Meanwhile, its Westmoreland Resource Partners (WMLP) subsidiary sold 1.7 million short t.
Over the first six months of the year, however, Westmoreland moved out of the red with a profit of US$5.2 million on revenues of US$711.0 million t from 25.8 million short t sold. Cash flow provided by operating activities was US$37.4 million. The company has US$35.9 million in cash and cash equivalents at 30 June.
“We remain on track to meet our 2015 adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow guidance based on our first half results and the demand trends that have continued to strengthen since June,’ said Westmoreland CEO, Kevin Paprzycki. “We delivered second quarter profitability and cash flow right on our plan which factored in power demand at its lowest during the spring months.”
Paprzycki was also confident that the company would meet its full-year guidance of coal sales of 53 – 60 million short t and adjusted EBITDA of US$235 – US$275 million.
Westmoreland Coal Co. owns opencast coal mines in the US and Canada, underground mines in Ohio and New Mexico, a char production facility and a 50% interest in an activated carbon plant. It also owns the general partner and a majority interest in Westmoreland Resource Partners, as well as the two-unit ROVA coal-fired power plant in North Carolina.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Prairie Mining is seeing significant support from the national and regional government for its Lublin coal project and future Jan Karski coal mine, following its launch at a press conference in 2Q16.
During the conference, Prairie presented its progress on project permitting, while regional politicians confirmed their support for the Jan Karski mine. The mine will be located in the Siedliszcze municipality in Chelm Shire.
Meanwhile, the Polish national government has announced a plan to support the industry development of the Lublin Coal Basin under the catchphrase, Coal 2.0.
This includes the development of transport infrastructure, such as the Wilno-Lublin-Rzezsow railway and motorways connecting to international road routes, as well as clean coal utilisation projects in Lublin.
“The plan prioritises the need to establish a long-term energy policy to ensure Poland’s energy security and avoid power shortages and improve the economic and labour conditions in eastern Poland, while encompassing support for development of industries based on natural resources,” Prairie explained.
Prairie has also received interest from the Warsaw financial sector, following its listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange last year and after a number of press conferences and workshops with Polish fund managers and research analysts in 2Q16, the company said.
Discussions have now begun with strategic partners, EPC contractors, global project finance banks and potential customers to structure a development financing package for the Jan Karski mine. The definitive feasibility study is also to start shortly after project options have been examined and an “go forward” case has been selected.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Michael Wiseman, Action Drill & Blast
The ongoing reduction in both thermal and metallurgical coal prices is pushing the industry to work more smartly and more efficiently in order to stay competitive. Doing things the same old way simply will not work in today’s market: asset owners and service providers must innovate if they are to survive.
One key opportunity is to use efficient drill-and-blast techniques to increase productivity in subsequent mining processes. If the same machines, personnel and other associated resources on an operation can move and process more material quicker, saleable volumes can rise.
Drilling and blasting more rock to dig faster ultimately costs more. It may be a relatively minor extra cost to the overall operation, but justifying any additional expense in the drill-and-blast process can be difficult. It’s not difficult to see why: any increase in cost is certain but the savings outcome for the miner is speculative. It can be a hard bet to make.
Likewise for the contractor, better explosives, better initiation systems, better skills or technology can all deliver big benefits that outweigh their costs, but these are almost always large changes, requiring new suppliers, supply chains and extensive training. Continuous improvement in these areas must be part of the bigger picture but it strikes a similar impediment to increasing the budget.
If increasing the drill-and-blast budget is not an option, the only avenue left to get the mine producing more by smoother and faster digging is to do more with the same drill-and-blast budget. Instead of buying more drill holes and explosives, the existing plan and budgeted resources must be optimised. The focus needs to be on quality of output instead of quantity of input.
Starting with the small stuff can lead to big benefits through a ‘virtual snowball’. Making small ‘benefit for no cost’ changes can free up time and resources to make the small ‘benefit for tiny cost’ changes. Continually improving and re-investing the benefits facilitates the medium, then big, then reputation-making improvements. The final benefits can be so profound – delivering such large and locked-in improvements to cost and speed of mining – that owners can re-open mothballed mines in a falling market.
Figure 1. Better blasts can be achieved without increasing the drill-and-blast budget.
The first step in this process is to improve team communication and motivation. Minor efficiency gains from within the existing workforce can escalate from minutes or dollars per hour, to hours per day, to saving whole shifts of labour time – and millions of dollars in extra revenue or reduced costs. These gains are free; they require no extra employees or equipment.
The biggest obstacle to this is convincing the very people who know how to improve things that it is in their interests to do so.
Demonstrating to the team how investing time gained into taking better care of machinery and implementing other initiatives to achieve greater competitiveness in the market means more jobs rather than less jobs is important. Once a level understanding and incentive has been achieved, workers are more likely to look for continuous improvement opportunities.
Employee motivation and incentive can be channelled into using spare time productively while on shift. Time can be spent learning more about other roles. A driller can assist the fitter on a service to increase the driller’s ability to fix issues before they happen or to help get a drill back up and running more quickly after breakdown. Helping the blast crew will allow them the opportunity to implement practices to improve efficiencies that can save on explosives product, for example.
Alternatively, spare time can be spread out throughout the shift. Drillers can take small blocks of time to sit with colleagues and improve each other’s skills and speed of drilling, complete spot checks or perform maintenance on the rig to reduce breakdown time and further increase drill hours.
If operators are skilled in all facets of drilling and maintenance, the penetration rate on a project has been shown to increase by between 5% and 10%, and rig availability regularly maintained at a minimum of 90%.
Multi-skilled personnel mean that the same work, or even more work, can be done with fewer people and less cost.
Targeting efficiencies in blasthole drilling can provide the first productivity gains, as it is an area that is often overlooked in continuous improvement activities.
Blasthole drilling is a relatively repetitive activity, which the driller carries out in isolation. As a result, the driller does not engage in regular communication with related personnel, such as engineers, fitters and shotfirers. The minimal level of interaction with colleagues provides limited opportunities to share skills and provide feedback on improvement ideas.
An additional opportunity surrounds how performance is typically measured. Most commonly, blasthole drilling is measured in terms of immediate performance rather than hole quality: penetration rates for a shift, hours drilled or metres drilled are priorities over ensuring the holes last. A driller is usually instructed to drill to a certain depth, with an engineer estimating an appropriate fallback buffer as a significant proportion of the holes fall back over time. This is brought to the attention of the blast crew normally long after the drill has left and part of the pattern either has to be re-drilled to get the optimum blast result or a poorer blast result is accepted.
This can be compared with a situation where a driller is tasked with achieving a certain depth when the blast crew arrive. Drillers begin to measure the holes before and after the job and drilling practices will be amended to reduce fallback – or if it is a natural feature of the ground in that area, then extra metres will be drilled to accommodate. Holes drilled a few days before are measured to see how things have changed over time; holes at the start of a pattern are given a little extra depth than those last to be drilled. Not only does this result in a better blast but minimises the need to move drills to re-drill holes, saving time and reducing costs.
On a project in Queensland’s coal-rich Bowen Basin, a drill maintained and operated by a contracted drill-and-blast team regularly achieved 20% to 25% more production than drills of the exact same model maintained and operated by the client, with fewer re-drills. With identical equipment, the difference came down to the contractor’s people and processes.
Figure 2. A shotfirer ties in a blasthole.
Exceeding targets with the same or lower costs allows for funds to accumulate for the big initiatives that require not just ideas and time, but money too – technology, training and R&D, including the upgrading and modification of equipment.
Possessing the resources and capability to enhance drill rigs to compete against more expensive and larger machines opens up significant opportunity for cost and productivity benefits.
In the competitive environment that is mining, it is common for drill manufacturers to compete in ‘classes’ based on their drill diameter capability.
Big drills are more expensive to purchase, operate and maintain – but they drill larger diameter holes, which is where they deliver their cost benefits. The geometry of blasting is generally a squared relationship – if the diameter of the drill bit is doubled, the number of holes needed will be reduced by a factor of four. Fewer holes means drill patterns can be drilled more quickly and less explosives accessories are required. The cost of achieving the end result – blasted material – is cheaper than if the same amount of work had been done with smaller drills.
However, this presents challenges if a mine has varying blast requirements and/or if reducing dilution and ore loss are key objectives.
It means the blast will be designed around the capabilities of the drill available rather than designed to maximise the explosive energy. It can result in a sub-optimum blast to the detriment of subsequent mining activities and project costs. Alternatively, it means acquiring an additional drill at more cost.
Solutions-focused drill-and-blast teams are finding ways to overcome this issue by optimising smaller rigs to drill larger hole sizes, effectively enabling them to perform in a higher drill class but without the additional operating costs associated with running a larger item of equipment.
These optimised rigs use multiple bit diameters and can perform angled drilling to suit varying ground types, final wall designs and bench heights. The capability to drill a wide variety of blasthole sizes means the drill-and-blast team can get the most efficient work out of the explosives and therefore deliver the best downstream benefits to the mine, such as better rock fragmentation, to improve dig rates and crusher throughput, optimal muckpile profiles and better final wall stability.
This approach has been delivering value in the Bowen Basin where an experienced drill-and-blast team engineered modifications to a standard Atlas Copco Pit Viper 275 (PV275). The engineering improved the rig’s flexibility, enabling it to compete against its larger and more expensive cousins.
The optimised PV275 drills three different size holes: 229 mm, 251 mm and 270 mm. Its standard set up is just 251 mm and 270 mm. There is no requirement for additional equipment to drill thinner holes and custom-made rods also facilitate increased depth, which enables the rig to drill 20% deeper than the standard PV275 model and with equal efficiency.
Figure 3. Multiskilling is critical to cost efficiencies.
Remember, the only purpose of drilling blastholes is to facilitate the efficient distribution of explosive energy within the rock mass, where the same chemical energy will deliver more useful work than if it was piled up on the surface. The optimum depths and diameters of the blastholes to be drilled in any drill-and-blast project depend on the type and depth of the rock being broken, the type of explosives being used to break it and the objectives of the blast. As ground conditions can vary significantly in a single project, the ability to tailor the drilling accordingly is the ideal approach to achieve an optimal blast.
With an innovative approach and a commitment to continuous improvement, the outcome can be improved dramatically. Better drilling and better blasting means faster digging.
This article first appeared in World Coal August. To read this and much more, register to receive a copy here.
Acacia Coal continues to focus on cost reduction as it explore a number of potential investment opportunities to deliver “more immediate value to shareholders that can be delivered by Comet Ridge alone”.
“Whilst the company has interrogated a number of opportunities, the company will not execute any related transaction until it considers such an opportunity to provide appropriate value to the company and its shareholders,” the company said.
The Comet Ridge tenements in the Bowen Basin offer the potential for coal resources amenable to opencast mining. It is located in the same region as the operating mines at Ensham, Jellinbah East, Blackwater and Curragh.
Acacia has, however, slashed spending on exploration and evaluation in order to preserve cash, with expenditure reduced to just AUS$72 000 in 2Q16. Acacia was also successful in completing a 50% concession on its expenditure commitments to Comet Ridge.
At 30 June, the company has about AUS$0.96 million in cash. Estimated cash outlays over the next quarter are expected to be AUS$0.16 million.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Barry Baxter
UK-listed Ncondezi Energy is confident that it will emerge as one of the winners in Mozambique’s ongoing negotiations with four groups to establish independent power generation operations in the country. In a joint project with Shanghai Electric Power Co. (SEP), Ncondezi is banking on a policy described by Chief Development Officer Hanno Pengilly as “taking control of its own destiny”.
SEP is the subsidiary of Shanghai Electric Corp., which is principally engaged in the production and sale of electricity and thermal power. Its current installed capacity is in the region of 100 000 MW. Top shareholders are the China Investment Corp. and nine Chinese fund management companies.
The three other groups: are Jindal Africa, a subsidiary of Jindal Group; ACWA of Saudi Arabia in partnership with mining major, Vale; and India’s International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL).
Pengilly bases his confidence in the Ncondezi-SEP partnership on the stated focus on power generation, not the export of coal. His major points are that Ncondezi plans to mine the thermal coal it would need to the exclusion of everything else. It would not have to rely upon coal mined by anyone else. It would buy in, but only to gain a price advantage.
”Given the current market situation, in which export prices continue to fluctuate wildly, power projects in which the parent company is essentially reliant on an export operation cannot have a secure base from which to enter into long-term – usually 25 years – energy contracts,” Pengilly told World Coal. “We would be able to.”
Ncondezi has a JORC-compliant 4.8 billion t resource of which 120 million t has been measured. It would be the target area from which an opencast mine would initially feed a 300 MW plant to generate power for use in Mozambique. A 100% 25 year offtake from the first stage of the project has already been agreed with national power authority Electricidade de Mocambique (EdM).
“Mozambique needs this power yesterday. Less than 20% of the people have access to electricity,” Pengilly said. “We estimate three years – the first power by 2020. Which means construction of the mine must start during next year (2017).”
Feasibility studies for both initial and expansionary stages, environmental assessments, connections to the national grid, licensing, legal, land and other requirements, are complete.
Longer term, the target is to match mine and power plant development in five stages to 1800 MW. Pengilly stresses that Mozambique would remain the main focus of the project, but concedes that eyes would also be on the broader region.
Ncondezi Chairman Michael Haworth and SEP Chairman Wang Yundan met last month with Mozambique’s Ministers of Mineral Resources and Energy, the head of EdM and the Chinese Ambassador to Mozambique to review the project and sign a Development Agreement Term Sheet.
Ncondezi Energy directly owns 100% of the current project, Ncondezi Power Co. SEP will invest US$25.5 million, paid in agreed instalments up to the point of financial close and acquire 60% of that. Following financial close, Ncondezi Power Co. will pay Ncondezi Energy US$35 million. Once these conditions have been met SEP will take control of the project. The mine will remain an asset of Ncondezi Energy. There would presumably be rescripted versions of these actions to accommodate expansion.
Export of power could be on the longer-term agenda. Close by the national grid into which Ncondezi Power Co. would connect is the regional (Southern Africa Power Pool) grid. Connected to that is power-hungry South Africa. Despite its nuclear ambitions, South Africa does plan to import up to 5000 MW of energy from coal-fired generation, provided it has been produced using the pulverised coal technology chosen by SEP for Ncondezi.
As Pengilly confirmed, SEP does not normally play in the 300 MW league. “It is positioning itself to play a significant role in the broader region,” he said. Ncondezi had responded to South Africa’s requests for expressions of interest and subsequently been listed, but its immediate path was clearly defined.
“We would be ready to scale up as and when required, but Mozambique would remain our centre of interest. We do not want to hang on what a third-party may or may not do,” he said.
Two of the three other groups have significance. Jindal’s project and that of ACWA and Vale.
Jindal is proposing a plant at its 3 million tpy Chirodzi mine, which is over a 700 million t resource. The coal would be produced as a byproduct of coal mined for export, but Jindal nevertheless claims a 25 year power purchase agreement with EdM. The plan was a 42 MW plant to power the mine; now it is for 150 MW sold into the national grid. No cost estimates have been published nor is there any timeline.
ACWA and Vale wants to build a 300 MW power plant to burn coal that is the byproduct of Vale’s Moatize metallurgical coal mine. ACWA would hold 56.5% of the project, with smaller holdings by Vale and Mitsui of Japan, Mozambique’s Whatana investment group and EdM, which suggests an eventual takeoff agreement. Of the power output, 80% would be used by Vale to power the mine. The project would cost “just short of US$1 billion”, but there are reports that US$500 million is still to be found.
Meanwhile, ICVL has relaunched a tender for a 200 MW coal-fired power plant at its Benga mine. Government licensing for the plant has been secured and environmental assessments approved, but the group has acknowledged a ?lukewarm’ response. This, Mozambique head Nirmal Jha said, was due to EdM being unable to guarantee to take the power. He has since indicated the group might now seek to export it, but the contractor-operated 5.2 million tpy mine is in care and maintenance, its future unsecure. There is a stockpile of around 5 million t of thermal coal immediately available for power generation – but it is unlikely to be required unless Benga’s fortunes recover.
This article first appeared in World Coal August. To read this and much more, register to receive a copy here.
The care and maintenance team at Wollongong Coal’s Wongawilli coal mine is “well advanced on preparation and recommissioning works”, according to the company’s quarterly results statement, as it prepared to reopen the mine.
Extensive recommissioning has been completed on equipment at the mine, including continuous miners, shuttle cars, feeder breakers, auxiliary fans and the conveyor system, in order to allow production activities to begin in 3Q16.
The company has also appointed Delta SBD as the mine operator under a mining services agreement signed in July 2016. The agreement with Delta covers a period of 2 years and the extraction of 1.45 million t of coal, allowing Wollongong Coal’s management to focus on long-term planning for the future of the mine.
Wollongong Coal’s Russell Vale coal mine remains on care and maintenance with activities there focused on maintaining equipment operability and the underground environment. Equipment from Russell Vale has also been used to recommission Wongawilli in order to minimise costs.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Coal’s share in the UK energy mix fell to 22% in 2015, according to new statistics from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS), lower than renewable generation, which rose to 25% of the mix. In 2014, coal generated 30% of the UK’s energy.
Natural gas generation led the mix with a 29% share, broadly similar with 2014’s level. Final consumption of electricity was 303 TWh, level with 2014 at its lowest point since 1995.
Renewable generation increased by 29% to 84 TWh between 2014 and 2015, according to the DBEIS figures, on the back of increased solar and wind capacity. Combined, wind and solar accounted for 48 TWh, a year-on-year increase of 33%.
Solar photovoltaic jumped by 78% in 2015 to 7.6 GWh. Capacity increased by 69% to 9.2 GW at the end of 2015, compared to 5.4 GW in 2014.
Hydro generation was also by 6.7%, while generation from bio-energy rose 30% on the back of the conversion of a third unit at Drax from coal to hi-range biomass cofiring.
Coal generation, meanwhile, fell by 25% from 100 TWh in 2014 to 76 TWh in 2015, following the closure of several power plants.
Since the beginning of 2015, 3660 MW of coal-fired generation capacity has been closed in the UK, while a 645 MW unit a Drax has been converted from coal to hi-range biomass cofiring.
Total UK generating capacity was 2.7 GW lower at the end of 2015 at 81 GW. The UK remained a net importer of electricity, with imports contributing 5.8% of electricity supply.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
SunCoke Energy’s coal logistics business reported revenues of US$11.2 million, an increase of US$2.6 million on the previous year, on the back of a US$7 million contribution from the Convent Marine Terminal (CMT). SunCoke acquired CMT in the third quarter of last year for US$412 million.
CMT handled 0.98 million short t of coal in 2Q16, helping to offset a 1.13 million short t fall in coal handling at SunCoke’s other facilities.
In addition to CMT, SunCoke Energy’s coal logistics business offers coal handling and blending services at Lake Terminal in East Chicago, Indiana, Kanawha River Terminals, which owns terminals along the Ohio and Kanawha rivers in West Virginia, and Dismal River Terminal in Virginia.
Overall SunCoke lost US$4.6 million in 2Q16, up from a US$13.5 million loss over the same period in 2015 and despite a US$55.5 million fall in revenues. Revenues fell to US$292.7 million over the three months to June, compared to USS$348.2 million in 2Q15.
SunCoke suppliers coke to the steel industry, owning cokemaking facilities in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia in the US, as well as in Brazil and India.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
During these difficult times for resource companies, many are faced with the decision of whether to proceed with developing a greenfield project or not. Some would see the shiny new mine as being tech-savvy, highly productive and low cost. Their vision would see the new mine outshining their existing mines and perhaps present an opportunity to offload a headache or two. But is the development of a greenfield project the aspirin for the CEO, or is purchasing an older existing mine a better course of pain relief?
For a mining company there is nothing more proud, exciting and energising than developing a greenfield mine. Done correctly, it could provide sustainable revenue, cash flow, profit and a significantly elevated status as a mine owner, developer and supplier of minerals in the global mining industry.
The flip-side of this is that it is also the act of one of the most capital intensive outlays ever undertaken, which makes it one of the most anxious, nerve wracking and challenging projects they embark on. Put in simple terms, developing a greenfield mine could make or break the entire company: its existing portfolio, cash reserves, reputation, executives and sustainability. Today, many resource companies are already sitting on this flip-side before they even embark on developing a greenfield project. So the risks are much higher today than they were during the last commodity boom.
It would seem that most resource rich countries are currently going through major political elections. This slows down the government’s approval processes and could potentially kill off new mine applications depending on which political party is elected. The legal processes required are very complex and could take several years to navigate through – as we have seen with the development of some proposed mega mines. In recent years, the development and construction costs have blown out to breathtaking heights on a regular basis. There is no guarantee that a new mine will have a higher productivity and lower cost regime than many existing mines currently operate within.
Developing a greenfield mine is certainly a complex, difficult and high-risk venture. It always has been, but it was much easier during times of high economic growth and profitability. Today, the risks are much more prominent and companies are much more risk adverse.
The alternative to developing greenfield mines is to purchase older, existing mines. Purchasing brownfield mines will allow for expansion and provide instant production, as well as access to transport and shipping systems and additional customer bases already in place – all without the development risks that comes with a greenfield mine.
However the business of mining is not that simple: the existing mine is likely for sale because it is struggling economically in today’s environment of low commodity pricing. It is most likely saddled with costs that have been blown out of context during the last super-cycle boom and suffering from low productivity and other significant issues implemented from the previous ‘production-at-any-cost’ school of management. Instead of pain relief, the CEO might be purchasing a bigger headache?
So how do resource companies look to gain a competitive edge and position themselves to be ready for the next resource boom cycle? The quickest and the lowest-cost way is to acquire an existing mine. But to fully maximise this option, you need the skills to realise the untapped value. The untapped value is the hidden value that is currently not being realised by the current owner. It is the potential to increase productivity, lower costs, maximise resource recovery, improve quality and increase marketability.
To release this untapped value, you have to operate the mine better than the previous owner – not necessarily differently (as is the current talk of the industry) but fundamentally better and in a way that increases safety, reduces costs, increases productivity, expands markets and implements a sustainable long-term plan. The key is to bring the people and systems that can improve every department of this asset.
Both greenfield and brownfield mines have untapped value; however only one can be executed quickly in today’s operating environment. The quickest way to ramp up production past your existing portfolio’s capacity is to acquire additional mines. In the short term, this is also the option that has the potential to unlock great, untapped value, providing that your company has the talented people required. To release this untapped value, you have to improve every department of that mine in a way that delivers reportable financial benefits to your business. Hopefully you will also be in a position to increase this untapped value through business synergies from your existing portfolio. This untapped value could potentially be worth as much as the mine and infrastructure you just acquired.
Russell Taylor has over 20 years of experience in the coal mining industry as a mining engineer, project director and mining executive. Most recently, he was Executive Vice President and Project Director at Reliance Coal Resources in India.
This article first appeared in World Coal August. To read this and much more, register to receive a copy here.
Australian Pacific Coal Ltd has appointed The Hon. Shane L Stone AC QC as a Non-Executive Director of the company.
The company has warmly welcomed Stone to the board and believes that Stone’s new appointment will bring to the board a person having a strong commercial and legal background and considerable experience in dealing with the Commonwealth and State governments. The board considers that Stone can provide valuable insights in connection with the company’s current plans and future developments.
He is an alumnus of the Australian National University, Melbourne University Law School, Adelaide and Sturt Universities and is a former Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge. Stone is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Institute of Management.
Stone was the Federal President of the Liberal Party of Australia (1999 – 2005), Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (1995 – 1999) and was Australia’s first named Minister for Asian Relations & Trade.
Stone is an experienced Director of public and private companies in Australia and elsewhere. He is Deputy Chairman of UK listed Impellam Group plc, which is the second largest staffing business in the UK and the 6th largest managed services provider worldwide. He is also Chairman of the ASX-listed Regalpoint Resources Ltd.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
After 10 years on the Board of The Weir Group PLC, Keith Cochrane will step down as Chief Executive. The Weir Group has appointed Jon Stanton as Chief Executive designate, succeeding Keith with effect as of 1 October 2016.
Cochrane stated: “It has been an honour to lead Weir and I am very proud of what we have achieved in the last 10 years. This is a great business with great people and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the success we have achieved. I know they will give Jon their full support as he takes the business forward. I wish him and Weir every success in the future.”
Cochrane served first as Group Finance Director and then, since 2009, as Chief Executive. He will step down from the board at the end of September, and will remain on hand to assist until the end of December 2016, when his employment with the company will end.
Stanton joined Weir in 2010 as Group Finance Director and has worked closely with Cochrane on the strategic and operational development of the business alongside providing strong financial leadership during that time. Before joining Weir, Cochrane was a partner at Ernst & Young advising several large international businesses.
Charles Berry, Chairman, commented: “Keith has demonstrated strong leadership over the last seven years and the substantial progress we have made during that time has been achieved through his passion, drive and determination. He has strengthened the group’s market position, extended our product portfolio and developed a customer-focused business model, which is both robust and agile in responding to changing market conditions. He leaves Weir in very good shape with a clear and successful strategy, strong operational performance and an experienced and capable leadership team. We are grateful for all he has done, and when he steps down, it will be with our very best wishes.”
“Succession planning is a key task for the Board and we have carefully considered the attributes we require in the new Chief Executive of the Weir Group. Having assessed external and internal candidates, we are delighted that Jon will step up to the role. He has a strong track record both during his time at Weir and in his previous career and has developed a deep understanding of Weir’s culture, operations and markets. The Board is confident that Jon will be highly successful as he leads the business forward.”
Stanton said: “Weir is a special company and I am delighted to have been chosen to lead it through the next phase of its development. We have a very talented team and I am excited about working together to build on the success achieved over recent years.”
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
One of the products McLanahan has often received requests for over the years is now available to customers. The MAX Series vibrating screen is based on McLanahan’s years of industry experience and designed to meet and exceed the demanding applications and specifications that producers face.
MAX Series vibrating screens are capable of separating coarse feed materials from finer materials. Available in a range of sizes from 6 ft x16 ft to 8 ft x 24 ft, these screens are a low headroom design engineered to fit into existing structures and operations with no rework. Each screen is built with maximum steel strength to withstand heavy loading and with the durability to provide longer wear life.
The MAX Series vibrating screen is designed to be durable for the longest useful wear life and with maximum strength steel to withstand heavy loading. Sideplates are fully bolted construction that reduces/eliminates crack propagation due to stress riser in the steel caused by welding and providing the ability to quickly replace worn components without cutting. These sideplates also use A572 Gr. 50 plate, giving it a 45% higher yield strength than traditional A36 plating.
Designed with operator safety in mind, the sideplates feature cross beam inspection ports that allow users to inspect inside tubes for failure when the tube is not visible due to abrasion resistant lining, eliminating the need for operators to crawl between decks for inspections. Foreign material that can corrode or abrade the inside of the cross members can be flushed out via cross beam inspection ports.
One of the most important design features of Max Series vibrating screens is the independent cross members. These allow users to replace worn sections of the screen individually without needing to replace the entire deck frame. The replacement cross members are shorter and have machined and matched shims to allow easy installation in areas with limited clearance. McLanahan knows the importance of maintainability and increased uptime for producers, and this feature helps them achieve that.
Additionally, this screen design was engineered with a direct drive system that eliminates the requirements for a pivoting motor base to keep belt tension on start-up. This drive system eliminates many of the issues that can make screens troublesome to maintain and cause them to fail over time.
Operators looking to upgrade their screening operations can have a solution that fits directly into their operation with no rework to existing structures.
McLanahan’s MAX Series make it easy to get more from a screen without needing to change your entire operation. Customers can get a solution that will give them more uptime, easier maintenance and a safer working environment.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Fine particulates (PM2.5 – those that are 2.5 µm or smaller) are coming under tighter control as they cause smog, other air pollution and detrimental health effects. Coal-fired power plants are a major source of PM2.5. Fine particulates are made up of primary and secondary PM2.5. Primary PM2.5 are emitted directly, and secondary PM2.5 form from chemical reactions in the air of other pollutants including SOX, NOX, VOC and ammonia. So legislation and controls on these pollutants will also effect PM2.5 in the air.
During the last decade, regulations for PM2.5 emissions have been implemented around the world and are discussed by Xing Zhang in her latest report for the IEA Clean Coal Centre. However, PM2.5 emitted from coal-fired power plants are still regulated as PM, which includes PM10 and other particles. It is difficult to compare emission standards across countries, but based on a rough comparison, although China’s air quality standards for PM2.5 and its precursors are less strict than the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 2005 guidelines and the European Union standards, it has stricter PM emission limits for new coal-fired power plants.
The most commonly used PM2.5 measuring methods were developed by the US EPA. The ISO has also issued three testing and measuring standards in recent years, and Canada developed their own. Most of these methods concentrate on determining the total mass of PM2.5. High quality and comprehensive measurement methods to determine the chemical components of PM2.5 still need to be developed.
PM2.5 emissions from coal-fired power plants can be controlled before, during and after combustion. Pre-combustion control includes choosing a suitable coal type and pulverising the coal to the correct size. Optimising combustion temperature, burning time and boiler load can reduce the formation and emission of fine PM. Injecting high-temperature sorbents leads to higher emissions of coarse PM, while the emissions of fine PM are reduced. However, post-combustion control systems are needed to meet emission limit regulations.
Electrostatic precipitators (ESP) and fabric filters (FF) are the two most commonly used conventional particulate emission control devices. An ESP can collect 98% of PM2.5 when combined with flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) and/or other pollutant control systems, while FFs have a higher collection efficiency – up to ~99.7% for PM2.5.
Several innovations have been made to improve the removal efficiency of ESPs. Of these, fluegas conditioning (FGC) and wet ESPs (WESP) are the most successful. There are over 600 FGC installations worldwide. Low-temperature ESPs have drawn attention in recent years, especially ultra-low temperature precipitation technology, which has the co-benefit of SOX control. FGC involves injecting chemical agents and/or water or steam into the fluegas stream to alter the physico-electrical properties of flyash, consequently reducing flyash resistivity. The most common conditioning agents are sulfur trioxide, ammonia and sodium compounds. The SO3 FGC system is relatively easy to retrofit as it has a small footprint and a low capital cost, and only a short outage period is needed for its installation. But use of SO3 for PM2.5 control is not recommended if an amine-based carbon capture system may be added later.
The removal efficiency for fine particles can be improved by employing a WESP after the FGD system. Additional benefits, such as keeping SO3 at a low level and capturing mercury, NH3, and HCl can make WESPs a preferred option. WESPs could have favourable economics for smaller coal-fired power plants or act as a final polishing stage for larger plants. There are numerous WESP installations, especially in China.
Hybrid systems combine the advantages of ESP and FF. This technology has improved PM collection efficiency to 99.99%. The US EPRI’s compact Hybrid Particulate Collector (COHPAC), China Fujian Longking’s Electrostatic Fabric Integrated Collector (EFIC), and China Feida’s ESP-FF hybrid system (EFF) are all commercially available. To date, there are over 1700 MW of COHPAC and 25 000 MW of EFIC installed. The Advanced Hybrid Collector (AHPC), Electrostatically Stimulated Fabric Filter (ESFF) – Max-9TM, and Multi-Stage Collector (MSC) all have promise but need further investment and demonstration trials before they can be brought to the market.
Multi-pollutant control systems that include a FF or ESP element are commercially available. As well as achieving a high PM2.5 collection efficiency, they can capture additional pollutants and can have lower capital and operating costs than a series of traditional systems to remove the same number of pollutants. Commercially available technologies with the most benefit for fine particulate control are the TOXECON™ and ECO® systems.
There are no miracle technologies for PM2.5 emission control. Individual coal-fired power plants vary in many aspects, such as type of coal used, location, water resources, space availability, funding and local labour cost. So, performance from one particulate control technology on a specific plant may not be achieved at another. However, providing correct assessments and management are undertaken, the emission standards set are achievable with currently available pollution control technologies.
Australian coal company, Cockatoo Coal, continues to face significant uncertainty over its future, after the Queensland state government said it would reassess the company’s environmental bonding requirements.
Cockatoo Coal recently reported a loss of AUS$105.7 million for the six months to December 2015. It and several of its subsidiaries entered voluntary administration last November. In May, it finalised an agreement with its creditors, allowing it to leave administration.
Currently the company has total environmental bonds in place of AUS$34.4 million. Should the Queensland government require further bonding, there is “significant uncertainty” as to whether Cockatoo has the financial capacity to meet such demands or to raise additional funding.
The company reported cash and cash equivalents of AUS$17.98 million at 31 December, down from AUS$24.84 million at the end of June.
Cockatoo’s main asset, the Baralaba coal mine in Queensland, remains in care and maintenance, after the company’s administrators shuttered it in February to reduce operating costs.
The Baralaba mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin produces PCI coal. In the six months to December 2015, the mine produced 0.4 million t of ROM coal and recorded coal sales of 0.58 million t.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Australian Pacific Coal has begun arrangements to ensure a smooth takeover of the Dartbrook coal project from current operator, Anglo American. It is also in the final stages of a business case analysis to assess the potential recommencing underground mining operations at the site.
In January, Australian Pacific Coal announced it had agreed terms with Anglo American to buy its stake in the Dartbrook joint venture. This was followed in May by the announcement that Anglo’s joint venture partner, Marubeni Coal, had exercised its right to tag along the sale of its stake in Dartbrook.
Dartbrook has estimated coal resources of 1.2 billion t, including 466 million t of measured resources. Underground mining stopped at Dartbrook in 2007 and the mine has been under care and maintenance since.
Financing for the purchase has been secured from Trepang Services, cornerstone investor in Australian Pacific, in the form of AUS$20 million convertible loans and an AUS$5 million secured interest-bearing loan. Trepang has also provided a non-binding indication that is intends to arrange for the provision of the remaining funding requirements relating to the Dartbrook acquisition.
Trepang is owned by John Robinson and Nick Paspaley. Robinson has also been appointed to the roles of CEO and Managing Director at Australian Pacific, following the departure of Nathan Tinkler last year.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Kuzbasskaya Toplivnaya Co. (KTK), a Russian producer and exporter of thermal coal, has announced a 10% year-on-year increase in quarterly production in 2Q16.
Coal production was 2.73 million t compared to 2.49 million t in 2Q15. Production was down slightly on 1Q16 output of 2.79 million t.
The Vinogradovsky mine accounted to 41% of KTK’s production with 2Q16 output of 1.13 million t. Karakansky South mine produced 0.84 million t, or 31% of the total; Cheremshansky mine produced 0.56 million t, or 20% of the total; and Bryansky mine produced 0.2 million t, of 8% of the total – the first production from this mine.
Karanksy South mine production is up 23% year-to-date as KTK seeks to take advantage of its low-cost production. Overall, 1H16 production stood at 5.52 million, 3% higher than the previous year. Exports stood at 3.59 million t, while domestic sales totaled 1.3 million t.
Average selling price fell slightly to RUB1223 per tonne from RUB1247 per tonne in 1H15.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
The Obama Administration’s review of the federal coal leasing programme is predicated on “politically contrived reasoning”, according to the US National Mining Association (NMA).
“The administration’s justifications mirror the activist with list for ‘keeping coal in the ground’ and lack any marks of a responsible fact-based assessment of the current federal coal programme,” said Hal Quinn, President and CEO of the NMA.
The DOI is reviewing the coal leasing programme, claiming that it has resulted in artificially low coal prices, reducing potential government revenues from the scheme – a claim the NMA disputes.
A report prepared by Norwest Corp. for the NMA, claims to expose the “fictional narrative that underpins the moratorium”. The report accuses the DOI of relying on anti-coal advocacy papers to support its review – despite having rejected the claims of such advocacy papers in the past.
“The same Secretary who defended the department’s coal leasing program now cites pressure group reports to justify ending it,” said the NMA. “Without explaining its change in position, DOI appears to blithely accept these groups’ contentions on a range of issues,” including the notion that the current leasing system has failed to deliver a fair rate of return.
“If the administration was sincerely interested in increasing revenue, it would lift the moratorium on federal lease sales and commit to an efficient process that optimises, rather than reduces, the benefits that flow to every American from the development of the nation’s federal coal resources,” concluded Quinn.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
US coal production for the week ending 23 July fell to 14.97 million short t from the 15.14 million short t high of the week before – but remains well above this year’s average weekly production of 12.46 million short t.
Compared to the same week last year, production was down 17.8%, while US year-to-date production is 26.3% lower year-on-year at 373.8 million short t.
Year-to-date production in Texas, however, is 3.7% higher than the previous year – the only state to show a rise in output. Current production stands at 17.86 million short t to 23 July, compared to production of 17.23 million t over the same period last year.
Wyoming, the largest coal producer in the US, has produced 150.22 million short t this year to date, 27.8% down on the 208.06 million short t over the same period last year. The largest year-on-year fall, however, has been recorded in Colorado, where production is down 45.3% to 6.32 million short t.
Regionally, Appalachia continues to see the steepest yearly fall, down 29.3% to 92.01 million short t. Within Appalachia, eastern Kentucky has seen been hit hardest, down 38.8%, while production in Virginia is down just 20.2%.
Production in the Interior Region is down just 21.5%, while production in the Western Region – which includes the Powder River Basin – is down 26.5%.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
The Tennessee Valley Authority will move forward with a plan to permanently and safely store coal ash and other coal combustion residuals (CCR) on TVA property at 10 locations across the service area.
This decision follows a year long review of the potential environmental impacts detailed in an Environmental Impact Statement (ESI), which addressed comments from 10 public open houses and additional opportunities for public input.
The EIS looked at two options for the future of CCR storage, closure-in-place and closure-by-removal. The preferred option for the 10 impoundments is closure-in-place.
“Based on our analyses and decades of available monitoring data, we believe that TVA’s CCR management activities are not harming human health or the environment,” said John McCormick, TVA Vice President of Safety, River Management and Environment. “We also found that digging up the coal ash and moving it someplace else has more potential environmental and safety impacts than closure-in-place and adds significantly more time and costs for our ratepayers.”
Closing CCR impoundments in place involves removing moisture from the material then adding a liner system, or cap, on top to keep rainwater out. The impoundments will continue to be monitored for at least 30 years as part of the TVA’s robust programme at each of its fossil sites.
Studies by TVA and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirm that this capping system will further reduce potential impacts on groundwater and helps protect the structural stability of the material. The EPA also noted in its CCR rule that closure-in-place could be just as safe as removal.
“EPA concluded that TVA’s responses to its comments on the draft EIS were acceptable and did not identify any deficiencies in the information we provided,” McCormick said.
TVA also received no objections from federal, state or local agencies to closing impoundments in place.
This action supports TVA’s stated goal of eliminating all wet CCR storage at its coal plants and will meet the federal CCR Rule.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
The new Cat 14M3 motor grader builds on the solid design of predecessor models with a larger engine, increased fuel efficiency, improved machine balance, enhanced transmission performance, advanced electro-hydraulic steering, more powerful telematics and added operator-safety/convenience features. An easily maintained drawbar-circle-mouldboard assembly is designed for productive performance in a range of applications, and long-term durability of major structures combines with low operating costs and serviceability to provide optimum value.
The new model is sized to work effectively in mine construction projects and in haul road maintenance for smaller trucks.
The 14M3 front frame is a single, heavy-duty steel casting designed to dissipate working forces. The rear frame features two bumper castings and thick hitch plates. A series of patented, easily installed ‘top-adjust’ metallic or nonmetallic wear strips and wear inserts ensure that drawbar-circle-mouldboard components maintain a ‘factory-tight’ condition that promotes high-quality work and significantly reduces operating costs. An adjustable circle drive also assists in maintaining assembly tightness and further reduces service time and costs.
The Cat C13 ACERT engine replaces the C11 engine in predecessor models and features an ECO mode that boosts fuel economy by limiting the engine’s high-idle speed to 1750 rpm in working gears, while maintaining machine power. ECO-mode savings are especially significant when working at high idle in light to moderate applications in gears 3R to 5F.
The standard Optimised Variable Horsepower system is designed to closely match power requirements in all gears, while the Consistent-Power-To-Ground feature automatically changes engine power levels to compensate for cooling fan losses, resulting in consistent power delivery in all ambient temperatures and working conditions. The C13 engine is available in three versions to suit emissions standards in the area of use. All emissions solutions are transparent to the operator and do not interrupt working cycles.
The 8F/6R power-shift transmission has a wide operating range for application flexibility and maximum productivity. The Cat Advanced Productivity Electronic Control System (APECS) enhances range-to-range shifting by maintaining consistent torque flow and smoothing shift points. The Shuttle-Shift feature enables directional shifts without slowing engine speed or using the inching pedal, and an available Autoshift system allows programming shift points to best match requirements of specific applications.
An engine over-speed protection system prevents downshifting at excessive ground speeds, while the standard automatic differential lock disengages during turns and re-engages during straight travel, simplifying operation and protecting the power train.
For added braking capability, hydraulically actuated oil-cooled disc brakes at each tandem wheel feature larger brake discs and piston areas, compared with predecessor models. Also, separate oil supplies for braking and implement systems eliminate cross-contamination, reduce heat and extend component life. An available compression brake enhances stopping power.
The load-sensing hydraulic system incorporates advanced electro-hydraulic operation for precise, responsive implement control. Proportional Priority Pressure-Compensating valves provide different flow rates for the head and rod ends of the cylinders, further ensuring consistent, predictable control. Balanced, proportional hydraulic flow enables all implements to operate simultaneously with consistent speed at consistent engine speeds.Blade-float features allow the entire blade to follow ground contour, or the toe of the blade can follow a hard surface, while the remaining cylinder is controlled manually. A 4.3 m mouldboard is standard; a 4.9 m version is optional. A range of cutting edges and bits are available, as are a three-shank ripper, scarifier and snow plough and snow-wing options.
A fully scalable, factory-integrated Cat GRADE with Cross Slope system allows operators to easily maintain desired cross slope by automatically controlling one side of the blade. In addition, newly patented Stable Grade and Auto Articulation technologies improve operator performance and productivity. Stable Grade detects and reduces machine bounce during operation while Auto Articulation improves maneuverability and performance in tight working spaces and enhances operator comfort. Cat Advanced Control Joysticks are optional with Cat GRADE with Cross Slope, and they also allow precise operation with AccuGrade and when using snow wings. The Advanced Control Joysticks allow the operator to configure auxiliary hydraulic functions safely and effectively without removing either hand from the controls, which results in decreased operator fatigue and increased productivity.
More effective fleet management is placed in the machine owner’s hands with the Cat Product Link telematics system. The system allows remote monitoring of machine location, fuel usage, machine performance and fault codes via the secure VisionLink user interface.
Steering is speed-sensitive, becoming less sensitive at higher speeds, with a secondary steering system engages automatically if required. Selectable blade-lift modes – fine, normal, and coarse – match blade control to the application, and the ‘Return-to-Center’ system automatically restores straight-frame travel from any angle.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Powder River Basin coal company, Cloud Peak Energy, did not export any coal in 2Q16, the company’s most recent results statement has revealed, and does not expect any international shipments for the remainder of 2016.
Since the beginning of last year, exports have fallen from 1.4 million short t (1Q15) to just 0.2 million short t in the first quarter of this year, before dropping to nothing in the three months to June.
In total, the company exported 2.4 million short t last year.
The company blamed “continued weak international prices for seaborne thermal coal” on the fall in coal exports – but remains positive on the potential for coal exports to Asia in the medium term.
“We have begun to see stability in international supply and demand and a significant increase in prices for both near-term and out-year seaborne thermal coal,” the company said in its 2Q16 results statement. Chinese thermal coal imports have been higher than expected, driving the prices rise, but demand also continues to grow in Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, Cloud Peak noted.
On the supply side, Indonesian supply – with which Cloud Peak exports would compete – has fallen significantly, while Australian supply has been stabilising, the company said. There is also a lack of investment in future supply projects.
“Given the large number of Asian utility plants currently being built to take imported coal, the company believes the current oversupply will be overcome by growing demand over time. While prices are not yet at levels that would make exports from the Spring Creek Mine economic, the Company continues to receive inquiries from Asian customers looking for long-term supply.”
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
GE and ENGIE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct innovative initiatives and jointly review digital solutions, in particular to optimise the performance of the electricity generation assets of ENGIE, one of the largest technology operators developed by GE in the world.
This partnership features collaboration between the world’s largest digital industrial group and a global energy player committed to be the leader in energy transition worldwide. GE has well-rounded experience in Internet industrial solutions and energy management software. The ENGIE Group brings its expertise in energy engineering, electricity generation and distribution, as well as in renewable energies and energy storage technologies.
For ENGIE, this agreement will facilitate, among others:
At the MoU signing, Judith Hartmann, Executive Vice-President of ENGIE, declared: “With this partnership, we are continuing the Group’s digital transformation. Thanks to GE’s expertise in the field, we will be able to accelerate the ramp-up of our Digital Factory and improve the management of our energy assets, thereby enhancing operational performance.”
“This partnership constitutes a key step for the energy industry in the digital era,” added Mark Hutchinson, Chairman and CEO of GE Europe. “Combining our expertise with ENGIE enables us to explore new digital solutions in very different areas and create value.”
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
