Follow us on twitter!News Flash 4 August 2011
Mining Weekly
Firestone awarded right for Waterberg coal mine
South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has awarded a 30-year mining right to ASX- and JSE-listed Firestone Energy for its Waterberg coal project. The approval was conditional upon a A$1-million payment, within ten days, which would be a deposit towards the mine rehabilitation provision. Read More....
Mining.com
Group says Alberta coal-fired power plant approval rushed to beat climate rules
An environmental group filing a court challenge over the approval of a coal-fired power plant in northern Alberta says the provincial regulator deliberately rushed the go-ahead to help the company avoid new federal rules on carbon emissions Read More....
Mining.com
Yanzhou Coal buys two Australian coalmines for A$202.5 million news
Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. China's fourth-largest coal producer, yesterday acquired two Australian coal producers, Syntech Holdings Pty Ltd and Syntech Holdings II Pty Ltd, for A$202.5 million ($222.08 million), in cash.
The Jining, Shandong-based company said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it has acquired the Brisbane-based companies from GS Power Holdings.
Both companies own and operate the Syntech open cut mine located in the Surat Basin in Queensland, which is 380km from the coal port terminal of Brisbane and about 460km from the Wiggins Island Coal Port Terminal at Gladstone. Syntech has 723 million tonnes of coal resources and coal reserve of 440 million tonnes. Read More....
News 24
Wage deal ends coal strike
The National Union of Mineworkers (Num) said on Monday it has reached a wage deal with employers in the coal sector to end a week-long strike that threatened supplies to power plants. The deal was clinched as talks to end a strike on the country’s gold mines are set to begin. At gold’s current record levels that stoppage is seen costing the gold producers up to $25m a day in lost output.
“They are going to be signing the offer ... the strike will be called off,” Num spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka told Reuters about the deal reached on the coal front. He did not give any details about the agreement but the Num had been seeking a 14% wage rise and employers were offering 6% to 8.5%. Coal firms affected included Anglo Thermal Coal SA, Exxaro Resources [JSE:EXX], Optimum Coal and Xstrata Coal. Read More....
BusinessLive
Mining growth an alternative to nationalization
Setting South Africa's mining industry on a new growth path could result in the creation of 100,000 direct jobs, Chamber of Mines senior executive Roger Baxter said on Wednesday. "For the period 2010 to 2020 conservative modelling indicates that a 3% to 4% growth rate and 100,000 jobs for the South African mining sector is realistically possible," Baxter told those attending a CFA South Africa conference on Unlocking Value in an Uncertain Future. Read More....
BusinessLive
CoAL extends date for fulfilment of conditions
Coal of Africa Limited advised on Tuesday (2/08/11) that the date for the fulfilment of the conditions precedent in terms of its proposed acquisition of Rio Tinto's South African coal assets has been extended from 1 August 2011 until 12 August 2011.
This is to allow for certain shareholder approvals to be obtained, after which Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) hopes to finalise the transaction. Read More....
Financial Mail
Coega, SA’s most heavily supported industrial development zone (IDZ), will soon announce its latest investor: a German company that plans to construct a R270m solar power plant.
Government’s investment in Coega to date, in the underdeveloped Eastern Cape, is estimated at US$4,8bn, according to Coega Development Corp (CDC) acting executive business development manager Christopher Mashigo.
Thus far it has attracted investments worth R13bn. The impact of the recession and SA’s power crisis in 2008 led to the cancellation or delay of a number of large investments in Coega, just as it seemed to be gaining momentum. Read More....
Bloomberg
Chevron Nigeria’s Natural Gas-to-Liquids Plant to Start Producing in 2013
Chevron Corp. (CVX), the world’s fourth- largest energy company, said its Nigerian Escravos gas-to- liquids plant is more than 70 percent complete and on course to start production in 2013.
The facility, which will refine natural gas to produce 33,000 barrels a day of fuels including diesel, is set “to be completed at the end of 2012,” Andrew Fawthrop, chief executive officer of the company’s Nigerian unit, said in an interview yesterday in Abuja, the capital. Chevron holds a 75 percent interest and will operate the estimated $8.4 billion project jointly developed with the state- owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corp., he said. Read More....
New York Times
Macarthur Coal Rejects Takeover Bid
Macarthur Coal of Australia refused to back a bid of 4.7 billion Australian dollars ($5.3 billion) by Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal, saying the offer was opportunistic and that it wanted to leave the door open for talks with other suitors. Green Macarthur said on Monday it was in talks with a number of interested parties after talks with Peabody, which had been conducting due diligence on the company, failed to result in an agreement. Read More....
