Coal
UK Coal warns it could close Britain’s largest coal mine
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By Clara Ferreira-Marques
UK Coal Plc warned on Wednesday it could close Britain’s largest coal mine as part of broader restructuring efforts to turn around a group dogged by debt and years of losses.
UK Coal, which bought British Coal’s core mining assets after the privatisation of the state miner in 1994, returned to profit last year, Read more
March 15, 2012 by Mineweb · Leave a Comment
Xstrata sells stake in B.C. coal operation to JX Nippon
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JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corp. has bought a stake in miner Xstrata PLC’s burgeoning Canadian coking coal operations, as it looks to tap demand from steel makers in Japan for coal from diversified sources.
Japan’s steel firms are keen to shift away from their reliance on Australia for coking coal, especially after tight supply early last year following devastating floods in Queensland – the heart of Australia’s coal mining sector. Read more
March 14, 2012 by The Globe and Mail · Leave a Comment
Adani to Continue Investing in Indonesia, Honor Shareholding Law
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By Fitri Wulandari and Yoga Rusmana
The Adani Group, owner of India’s biggest coal importer, said it will continue to invest in Indonesia even after the Southeast Asian nation imposed rules requiring foreign mining companies to reduce their local stakes.
The group, controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, will “honor” Indonesia’s regulations and adjust its businesses in the nation accordingly, Ganeshan Varadarajan, president director of local unit PT Adani Global, said in Bali today. The Jakarta- based company has mines in South Sumatra, East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan provinces, according to Varadarajan. Read more
March 13, 2012 by Bloomberg · Leave a Comment
Forex losses hit Coal of Africa results
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By Christy Filen
Foreign exchange losses of over US$44m weighed heavily on Coal of Africa’s (CoAL’s) first half results today that showed a US$75m loss after tax compared to a loss of US$67m for the same period in the previous year.
This has resulted in a total equity measure falling below a threshold with regards to a US$50m Read more
March 13, 2012 by Mineweb · Leave a Comment
Realm ponders sale of South Africa assets to fund Indonesian mine
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By Robb M. Stewart
REALM Resources is looking at options to fund its first coal mine in Indonesia, including the possible sale of legacy assets in South Africa in move that would sever the companys links with its earlier focus on platinum.
Given the miserable credit conditions for exploration companies, Realm is likely to pursue prepayment for secured supplies of coal from a mine due to begin production Read more
March 9, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
Trade balance swings to deficit as iron, coal, gold
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By Adam Creighton
A PLUNGE in exports from Australia’s booming mining industry has prompted the first monthly trade deficit in one year, ABS data showed. Read more
March 9, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
Ukraine’s DTEK Acquires Bilozerska Coal Mine in Donetsk Region
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By Kateryna Choursina
DTEK, Ukraine’s biggest private power producer, acquired TDV Shakhta Bilozerska, a coal mine in Donetsk region, for an undisclosed sum.
DTEK, which is based in the city of Donetsk, said in an e- mailed statement that it now owns 95.4 percent of the mine. The company plans to invest in Bilozerska Read more
March 7, 2012 by Bloomberg · Leave a Comment
Gloucester tweaks Yancoal merger deal at expense of shareholders
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By Bryan Frith
WHEN Yanzhou Coal proposed to merge most of its coal assets in Australia with Gloucester Coal, it was expected that the independent directors of Gloucester would seek to negotiate a greater share of the pie for their shareholders.
That’s because the assets to be tipped in by Yanzhou were largely those acquired in the $3.3 billion acquisition of Felix Resources and the terms of the merger, although enthusiastically embraced by Gloucester’s majority shareholder, Read more
March 7, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
Gloucester green lights $9bn coal company
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By Sarah-Jane Tasker
GLOUCESTER Coal’s board has unanimously backed a deal to merge with China’s Yanzhou Coal to create a $9.3 billion miner, which will become Australia’s largest listed pure coal play.
Gloucester’s 64.5 per cent shareholder, Hong Kong’s Noble Group, also confirmed its support of the cash and scrip deal, which was slightly adjusted from the original proposal in December. Read more
March 6, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
China Steel eyes iron ore, coal assets
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By Fanny Liu
TAIWAN’S China Steel Corp is seeking to acquire more overseas iron ore and coal resources this year. It is also hoping to increase its chances by bidding together with steelmakers from China, Japan and South Korea, company president Sung Jyh-yuh said in a recent interview. Read more
March 6, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
Vedanta’s expansion plans target Balco and Hindustan Zinc – and major coal assets
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By Shivom Seth
London-listed Vedanta Resources is all set to ink two big-ticket acquisitions this year. While the first one involves a coal mine in Latin America with a reported buy target of $5 billion, the second acquisition is closer home.
The group has offered to buy the residual Indian government’s stake in Hindustan Zinc and the erstwhile Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) for $3.2 billion. Read more
March 5, 2012 by Mineweb · Leave a Comment
Big miners unfazed by lower growth forecasts for China
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By Sarah-Jane Tasker and Barry FitzGerald
AUSTRALIA’S big iron ore and coal miners are pressing ahead with significant expansion plans despite China’s plan to slow growth to an almost 10-year low.
China’s Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday set the country’s growth target at 7.5 per cent for this year, while the inflation target was set once again at 4 per cent. The growth target is the lowest since 2004. Read more
March 5, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
Russia Plans $8 Billion Siberia Investment to Boost Coal Exports
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By Ilya Khrennikov
OAO Severstal, Russia’s second- largest steel producer, is among four companies planning mines and a state-backed railroad in the Siberian region of Tyva that would double the country’s metallurgical coal exports by 2020.
“Annual coal production in Tyva may reach 40 million metric tons in 2020 should all the companies implement the announced plans in full,” Dmitry Sakhno, project manager at Severstal, said in an interview in Moscow. “More than half of these volumes will be exported.” Read more
March 2, 2012 by Bloomberg · Leave a Comment
Price pressures take the gloss of China’s black gold
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By Tom Orlik
CHINA’S love affair with coal will endure, but for investors the romance is gone.
For the past few years, investors in China’s coal sector have been mining a rich seam.
February 28, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
Russia Cuts 2011 Coking Coal Exports 21% as China Demand Drops
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By Ilya Khrennikov
Russian exports of steelmaking coal declined 21 percent last year to 14.2 million metric tons because of lower demand from China and periodic halts at some Siberian mines.
China decreased purchases of Russian coking coal 41 percent from the previous year to 1.5 million tons, the Economy Ministry in Moscow said on its website. Ukraine accounted for 40 percent of exports, while Switzerland, where Russian producers have trading divisions, represented 15 percent. Read more
February 15, 2012 by Bloomberg · Leave a Comment
Zyl finds buyer interest in Mbila coking coal output
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By Robb M. Stewart
AUSTRALIAN mining company Zyl, which last year attracted takeover interest, today said six companies have approached it about securing more than 600,000 tonnes a year of coking coal from its planned Mbila mine in South Africa.
The expressions of interest, including one from an unnamed international mining company, Read more
February 3, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
Xanadu in Talks to Sell Mongolian Power-Coal Assets in 6 Months
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By Michelle Yun
Xanadu Mines Ltd. (XAM), an Australian explorer operating in Mongolia, is in talks to sell its thermal coal assets in the nation in the next six months as part of a shift to focus on coking coal.
Discussions are being held at an informal stage and no bank has yet been hired for the sale, Xanadu Chairman Brian Thornton said today by phone from Sydney, without giving details. Read more
February 2, 2012 by Bloomberg · Leave a Comment
Xstrata Thermal-Coal Output Rises on New Mines; Copper Falls
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By Firat Kayakiran
Xstrata Plc (XTA), the largest exporter of power-station coal, said production of the fuel from Australia rose to a record last year after the Mangoola mine started and the Newlands underground project boosted capacity.
Xstrata produced 49.8 million metric tons of thermal and semi-soft coal in the country, a 12 percent gain on the previous year, the Zug, Switzerland-based company said today in a statement. Mined nickel volumes also climbed to a record, while copper output dropped 2.7 percent.
Read more
January 31, 2012 by Bloomberg · Leave a Comment
Aquila Resources approves Eagle Down coal project
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AQUILA Resources has formally approved the Eagle Downs coal project it has been fighting over in court with joint venture partner Vale.
Aquila said the approval of the hard coking coal project in Queensland meant it would not pursue action in the state’s Supreme Court against Brazil’s Vale. Read more
January 31, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
Coalspur Mines shares jump on upgrade
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By David Winning
COALSPUR Mines said today its proposed $C1.23 billion ($1.16bn) Vista mine in Canada may produce 24 per cent more coal than previously thought, as the company moves to lock in project financing with offtakers.
Coalspur said a detailed study showed the Vista project, near Hinton in Alberta province, could have an annual production capacity of 11.2 million tonnes of thermal coal versus a previous estimate of 9 million tonnes. Read more
January 30, 2012 by The Australian · Leave a Comment
