Coal Age

MAR 2014

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creating conditions not allowable in state waters; the DEP is also over- seeing cleanup operations. The order, halting all plant work barring clean-up efforts, remains in effect until Patriot eliminates potential for further pollution. The spill, which began at 2:30 a.m. on February 11, is believed to have emanated from a faulty slurry pipeline valve. Company officials estimate 108,000 gallons of slurry entered Fields Creek, impacting six miles of the tributary; Fields Creek empties into the Kanawha River near Chesapeake. Kanawha Eagle operators discovered the spill around 5:30 a.m. and shut down the slurry pumps, which remain inactive; state Emergency Spill Line officials were notified at 7:42 a.m. "The company has installed check dams, or barriers, throughout Fields Creek to slow the flow of the stream, drop solids and clear the water," the DEP said in a statement. "Solids are then pumped from the stream using vac trucks; barriers include rock, hay bales and silt fencing." In addition, Patriot is pumping water from the stream near the prep plant into settling ponds. Once clear, a creek evaluation will determine how residual material will be removed; the company is also required to perform an aquatic life assessment. The spill is not expected to have a major impact on the Kanawha River, however, said DEP officials. The agency said that evidence of slur- ry was observed in the Kanawha River, one-half mile downstream from the mouth of Fields Creek, but dissipated shortly after. The DEP also noted that the nearest surface water public intake downstream is in Huntington, 115 stream miles away. The nearest ground water public intake downstream, meanwhile, lies in Mason, 75 miles from the spill site. "Mason draws its public water from groundwater, but has the poten- tial to pull some river water through soils into its intake," agency officials said. "Huntington and Mason water officials were notified of the spill; Ohio EPA and industrial water users downstream were notified as well." Oregon Approves Coyote Island Permits Officials at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality have issued air quality, water quality and construction storm water permits for the Morrow Pacific project at the Coyote Island Terminal coal export project in Boardman. Clark Moseley, CEO of the project, noted the approval and rigor- ous process validated Morrow Pacific's dedication to the environ- ment. "We are committed to doing business the Oregon way," he n e w s c o n t i n u e d T O P 1 0 C O A L - P R O D U C I N G S T A T E S Freezing of Bank Accounts Linked to Ukrainian President Could Impact Coal Business A Ukrainian conglomerate, the Mako Group, based in Donetsk, con- firmed it was 100% owned by Oleksander Yanukovich, a son of oust- ed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's. His and Oleksander's foreign assets were frozen by Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, according to Reuters . The company said it had yet to be informed, but would seek the advice of lawyers if the reports proved true. Mako said that its Swiss arm the Mako Trading Co. conducts legal trading activity, primarily coal exports, from Ukraine to more than 20 coun- tries. Prospectors Discover Significant Met Coal Deposit in British Columbia A coalfield with an estimated 7-billion-metric-ton (mt) reserve has been discovered in western Canada, containing what's believed to be the world's single largest metallurgical coal deposit, officials at Canadian Dehua International Mines Group Inc. (CDI) have announced. CDI chief engineer Vincent Li said analytical data indi- cates that the reserve lies in a 150-sq-km area at a depth of 1,000 m; 50% of the formation is believed to be high-quality met coal. Located in the Wapiti river area in northeast British Columbia, it would surpass the previously largest recorded coalfield, Mongolia's Tavan Tolgoi, which possesses 1.8 billion mt of coking coal within its 6.5 billion mt of reserves. The statistics came from months of studies by Golder & Associates, Snowden and China's Shandong Geological Exploration and Research Institute. CDI was established in 2004 in Vancouver to explore and mine coal, iron ore and other minerals. Mine Management Under Fire as Australia's Hazelwood Mine Burns As a fire roars at the Hazelwood coal mine 95 miles east of Melbourne in Australia's Victoria state, questions are mounting over whether better mine management and more intense regulations could have minimized the incident. The project is operated by GDF Suez Hazelwood in a joint venture with Mitsui & Co Ltd. Firefighting equipment, including water mains and sprinklers, had been removed from the disused section of the open-pit lignite mine, which has been ablaze since February 9, said firefighters. Officials were forced to evacuate South Morwell residents, including children, elderly and those with respiratory ailments; The Australian reported more than 25,000 oxygen masks have been distributed. Meanwhile, questions are arising over the project, with fire- fighters saying it was inadequately rehabilitated with a top layer of clay and soil to reduce fire risks, with minimal sprinklers, according to local reports. The 3,554-hectare asset and a 1,542-megawatt (MW) power station, which it supplies with 18 million tons annually, has witnessed several other fires — including one in a disused sec- tion lasting more than a week in 2006. TATA Power Sells Stake in Indonesian Coal Project TATA Power Co. Ltd. is selling a 30% stake in its Indonesian sub- sidiary, PT Mitratama Perkasa, to Indonesian conglomerate Bakrie Group for $120 million as part of its efforts to pay off loans incurred on its Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project and reduce losses. The company (in Thousand Short Tons) Week Ending (3/1/14) 2014 2013 % Change Wyoming 64,061 64,712 -1.0 West Virginia 18,926 19,543 -3.2 13,909 14,015 -0.8 Pennsylvania 8,878 10,032 -11.5 Illinois 7,894 9,553 -17.4 Texas 6,614 6,419 3.0 Indiana 6,309 6,431 -1.9 Montana 5,719 5,477 4.4 Ohio 4,736 4,777 -0.9 North Dakota 4,726 5,193 -9.0 U.S. Total 161,194 165,926 -2.9 Continued on p. 6... March 2014 www.coalage.com 5 W O R L D N E W S ¸ ˛ ˝ ¸ CA_pg04-23_V2_CA_pg06-23 3/12/14 12:24 PM Page 5

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