Coal – Page 66 – Republic of Mining

CBC INVESTIGATES: Donkin coal mine racks up dozens of safety violations in first few months – by Frances Willick (CBC News Nova Scotia – August 4, 2017)

August 4, 2017

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/

The first underground coal mine to operate in Cape Breton in a generation has been plagued by safety violations that one industry observer says has left some miners feeling afraid. Documents obtained by CBC News under freedom of information laws show a history of repeated infractions at the Donkin coal mine, some of which could endanger the lives of workers.

“I’m worried about the safety of the miners in Cape Breton,” said Gary Taje, the international staff representative of the United Mine Workers of America, which does not represent the Donkin workers. “It makes me scared, and I do know there are some scared miners there.”

Inspectors with the province’s Labour Department carried out six inspections between the first day of production at Donkin on Feb. 27 and June 15. During the mine’s first 3½ months of operation, the department issued 10 compliance orders and 29 warnings for violations of workplace safety and underground mining regulations.

Germany’s long goodbye to coal despite Merkel’s green push – by Vera Eckert (Reuters U.S. – August 2, 2017)

August 2, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Burning coal for power looks set to remain the backbone of Germany’s energy supply for decades yet, an apparent contrast to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ambitions for Europe’s biggest economy to be a role model in tackling climate change.

Merkel is avoiding the sensitive subject of phasing out coal, which could hit tens of thousands of jobs, in the campaign for the Sept. 24 election, in which she hopes to win a fourth term. Although well over 20 billion euros are spent each year to boost Germany’s green energy sector, coal still accounts for 40 percent of energy generation, down just 10 points from 2000.

To avoid disruption in the power and manufacturing sectors, coal imports and mines must keep running, say industry lobbies, despite the switch to fossil-free energy. “(Coal) makes a big contribution to German and European energy supply security and this will remain the case for a long time to come,” the chairman of the coal importers’ lobby VDKi, Wolfgang Cieslik told reporters last week.

Focus on Economy Before Climate Deal, Glencore Urges Australia – by Perry Williams (Bloomberg News – August 2, 2017)

August 2, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Australia may need to consider delaying its goals to combat global climate change in order to prioritize energy security and economic prosperity, according to a senior executive at Glencore Plc.

The country’s emerging energy crisis, in conjunction with government-imposed clean-energy targets, has undermined investor confidence and may force businesses to shut or move offshore, the commodity giant’s global coal head, Peter Freyberg, said in a speech Wednesday in Sydney.

“If that means Australia needs to consider a possible delay in meeting its emission reduction targets under the Paris Agreement in order to prioritize energy security and economic prosperity, then its worthy of further discussion,” he said, adding that Swiss-based Glencore has invested $20 billion in its Australian assets and last year contributed more than $12 billion to the economy.

Ukraine Coal Exports Part of Trump Bid to Counter Russia – by Ari Natter (Bloomberg News – August 1, 2017)

August 1, 2017

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg) — A Pennsylvania company will send 700,000 tons of coal to Ukraine in a deal the administration of President Donald Trump heralded as an important tool to undercut the power Russia has over its European neighbors.

While Trump has pledged to improve ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his administration says it’s trying to use more U.S. exports of coal, natural gas and oil to curtail Putin’s sway with Russian natural resources. Ukraine had been reliant on Russia for much of its oil and gas, and its domestic thermal coal supply collapsed because much comes from the rebel-controlled eastern part of the nation.

“In recent years, Kiev and much of Eastern Europe have been reliant on and beholden to Russia to keep the heat on,” Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement announcing the coal-export deal. “That changes now. The United States can offer Ukraine an alternative, and today we are pleased to announce that we will.”

U.S. coal exports soar, in boost to Trump energy agenda, data shows – by Timothy Gardner and Nina Chestney (Reuters U.S. – July 28, 2017)

July 28, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. coal exports have jumped more than 60 percent this year due to soaring demand from Europe and Asia, according to a Reuters review of government data, allowing President Donald Trump’s administration to claim that efforts to revive the battered industry are working.

The increased shipments came as the European Union and other U.S. allies heaped criticism on the Trump administration for its rejection of the Paris Climate Accord, a deal agreed by nearly 200 countries to cut carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels like coal.

The previously unpublished figures provided to Reuters by the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed exports of the fuel from January through May totaled 36.79 million tons, up 60.3 percent from 22.94 million tons in the same period in 2016. While reflecting a bounce from 2016, the shipments remained well-below volumes recorded in equivalent periods the previous five years.

Glencore snaps up 49pc of Hunter Valley Operations in $US1bn deal – by Matt Chambers (The Australian – July 27, 2017)

July 27, 2017

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

UPDATE: Glencore has confirmed it had struck a $US1.139 billion deal to buy 49 per cent of the Hunter Valley Operations coal mines from Yancoal Australia and Mitsubishi.

The deal, which is conditional on approvals and the completion of Yancoal’s acquisition of Rio Tinto’s operating stake in HVO as part of a $US2.69bn deal struck last month to buy all of Rio’s Australian thermal coal, is expected to be completed within six months.

Under the deal, revealed by The Australian this afternoon, Glencore has also agreed to subscribe for $US300 million of Yancoal shares in an equity raising to fund Yancoal’s Rio purchase.

After China-induced price spike, coal set to resume long-term decline – by Nina Chestney and Henning Gloystein (Reuters U.S. – July 24, 2017)

July 25, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Coal prices’ march to eight-month highs, driven by China’s huge appetite for power consumption, looks like an interlude in a longer-term decline and is seen losing traction later this year.

Investors widely anticipate a slow demise for coal use due to policies encouraging cleaner natural gas and renewable energy generation, but the shorter-term outlook for the industry has seen a sharp reversal of fortunes.

Asia’s benchmark physical coal prices GCLNWCPFBMc1 have gained more than a third from lows seen in May to nearly $98 per ton, while European benchmark API2 2018 coal futures are at eight-month highs of around $74 a ton. Recent gains are largely due to high demand in China, where power consumption has jumped more than 6 percent since the beginning of the year.

[Australia Mining] “This is Adani” -by Domanii Cameron (Townsville Bulletin – July 22, 2017)

July 24, 2017

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/

INDIAN mining conglomerate Adani has launched a $1.4 million national advertising campaign in a bid to quash the myths that are plaguing the controversial Carmichael coal mine.

“This is Adani” kicked off today with the new branding to circulate across TV, radio, newspapers and digital sites. Adani Australia’s chief executive officer and Head of Country Jeyakumar Janakaraj said the campaign showed the “real Adani”.

“We will soon start the largest industrial project in Australia by an Indian company, an investment that will deliver 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, and an investment that will generate more than $40 billion in state and Federal taxes and royalties,” he said.

[Ontario] No business like coal business – by Lorrie Goldstein (Toronto Sun – July 21, 2017)

July 24, 2017

http://www.torontosun.com/

Premier Wynne back in black

Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government is back in black – meaning the coal business. Specifically, the use of coal to generate electricity, a practice it outlawed in Ontario on Nov. 23, 2015, after shutting down the last of the province’s coal-fired power plants in 2014.

As the Wynne Liberals proudly proclaimed back then: “Ontario passed legislation today to permanently ban coal-fired electricity generation in the province – a first in North America and a significant step in the fight against climate change.

“The Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act prevents new and existing facilities from burning coal for the sole purpose of generating electricity. It sets maximum fines for anyone who violates the ban and enshrines the health and environmental benefits of making coal-fired electricity illegal in law …

Trump’s Coal Revival Vow Emboldens Miners to Shun Career Change – by Daniel Flatley (July 20, 2017)

July 21, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Retraining reticence for in-demand health care jobs is part economic and part cultural

West Virginia is so strongly associated with coal that the state flag features a miner with pickax over his shoulder. A nurse with a stethoscope might be more fitting.

Last year, WVU Medicine, a network of hospitals under the state’s flagship public university, dethroned Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as the top employer. What’s more, six out of the top 10 employers in the state were hospitals and health-care providers. Murray American Energy Inc., a large coal company operating in the region, dropped to 15th place from sixth.

That same story is told another way with labor-market data. Mining jobs in the state fell by 25 percent between 2012 and 2016. At the same time, West Virginia health-care jobs have been mushrooming, and account for one of every five private-sector positions in the state, according to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, a research group.

Coal Mine Crackdown Dims Prospects for Mongolia’s Fortune Seekers (Voice Of America – July 12, 2017)

July 13, 2017

https://www.voanews.com/

ULAANBAATAR — Working 50 meters (164 feet) under ground with minimal air supply, Uuganbaatar is one of thousands of Mongolians trying to make a living digging for coal.

Although the mining season does not begin until autumn, when the ground freezes and work is safer, the 31-year-old and his colleagues are seeking to gain a head start by digging a shaft in Nalaikh, one of the nine districts of Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar, in late June.

But their mine could soon be shut by the government, which has launched an unprecedented crackdown on sites that don’t meet safety standards. That would mean even fewer opportunities for Mongolia’s individual prospectors, who have already been hit hard by the privatization of mines previously open to all.

Germany’s Blood Coal – by Andreas Macho (Handelsblatt Global – July 13, 2017)

July 13, 2017

https://global.handelsblatt.com/

Activists say that demand for cheap Colombian coal from German utilities such as Uniper and RWE is leading to systematic killings and evictions in the country.

It’s not often that the subject of murder is raised at a shareholder meeting. So it’s fair to say that the comments made by Maina van der Zwan at the otherwise uneventful AGM of German energy company Uniper were unexpected.

Holding up a grainy picture of a Colombian man, the activist at Dutch NGO Pax announced: “He was the spokesman for a community which had opposed the expansion plans of a mining company in the Colombian region of Cesar. On September 11, he was murdered in cold blood.”

Al Gore to PM: ‘Malcolm, don’t build the mine’ – by Nick Whigham (News.com.au – July 11, 2017)

July 11, 2017

http://www.news.com.au/

FORMER United States Vice President Al Gore has a message from our Prime Minister: “Malcolm, don’t build the mine.” He is, of course, referring to the government’s plan to allow Indian mining conglomerate Adani to build a mega-mine in North Queensland known as the Carmichael coal mining project.

Mr Gore is in Australia ahead of the release of An Inconvenient Sequel, the follow up to his Oscar-winning 2006 documentary on global warming. The movie follows Mr Gore as he travels the world giving his famous power point presentation and meeting politicians while championing the need for renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels.

When asked by news.com.au if he’d ever tried to persuade the Australian government from pursuing the controversial mining project, he seized the opportunity. “Well if he’s watching, Malcolm don’t build the mine,” he said. “That’s a direct way to do it.”

Century-old underground [coal] fires stop trains in India amid passenger safety fears – by S.N.M. Abdi (Al Arabiya English – July 11, 2017)

July 11, 2017

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/

Underground fires burning for more than a century have forced authorities in India to evacuate a college and stop railway operations in the dangerous zone lest passenger trains fall into the inferno below the surface.

The first underground fires in Jharia coalfields of Jharkhand state in eastern India were reported way back in 1916 and all attempts to extinguish them have miserably failed so far. To prevent deaths, Bhagatdih’s historic Raja Shiv Prasad College, which has 6000 students on its rolls, has just been shifted to a safer site in Jamadoba six km away

And as more and more land in the affected area has started cracking or caving in due to subterranean fires, railway officials have decided not to run passenger trains on the 41-km stretch between Chandrapura and Dhanbad.

Community’s long history seen as a gift by residents – by Elizabeth Patterson (Cape Breton Post – July 8, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://www.capebretonpost.com/

SYDNEY MINES – If you offered Sheila MacCormick a chance to buy a brand new house, she probably wouldn’t be that interested. MacCormick lives in a brick and stone home that was built in 1853 for a mine office manager by the name of Sutherland who worked for the General Mining Association. It comes complete with hardwood peg floors, five fireplaces and uneven windows and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I just love old buildings and old things,” MacCormick told The Cape Breton Post at a heritage display and storytelling session at Holy Family Church hall on Saturday. “It’s got a lot of history and I just love it.”

MacCormick is just one of about three dozen people who attended the session held to mark Heritage Day in Sydney Mines. While the morning event, an outdoor heritage hunt, didn’t attract a lot of people mainly due to poor weather, many instead came in the afternoon to hear a discussion led by Ronald Labelle, Cape Breton Regional Library’s storyteller-in-residence.