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comes with a cost, and the value of that benefit cannot be known unless its costs are considered." Deadline Extended to Bid on Patriot Assets Several key parties in Patriot Coal Corp.'s bankruptcy case were suc- cessful in convincing a judge to extend the deadline to bid on most of the company's coal mining assets, handing a setback to Patriot's largest lenders who supported a now-definitive sale agreement between Patriot and Blackhawk Mining LLC. As the case moved into July, Patriot had a deal to sell most of its Central Appalachian operations to Lexington, Kentucky-based Blackhawk, which agreed to serve as stalking horse bidder in any upcoming court-approved auction. But the deadline for submitting counter offers to Blackhawk's has changed. The initial deadline of August 7 is now September 4 following a late June order by Judge Keith Phillips of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern Division of Virginia. Patriot, based in Scott Depot, West Virginia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reor- ganization on May 12. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), Patriot's unse- cured creditors committee and U.S. Trustee Judy Robbins had petitioned the court to extend the bidding procedures, arguing a later deadline could attract more offers in addition to Blackhawk's. Under its non-cash transaction, Blackhawk would issue about $653 million of new debt securities, up from $643 million previ- ously, to Patriot's secured lenders while providing the lenders an ownership interest in Blackhawk, a growing Central Appalachian and Illinois Basin producer that expects to turn out about 10 mil- lion tons of coal in 2015. Patriot's largest secured lenders, including Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, Caspian Capital LP, Knighthead Capital and Hudson Bay Absolute Return Credit Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., had urged the judge to retain the August 7 bid deadline. Blackhawk is proposing to buy the Kanawha Eagle, Midland Trail/Blue Creek, Paint Creek, Wells, Rock Lick, Panther and Logan County mining complexes in Central Appalachia from Patriot, as well as river terminals Patriot controls. Most of the operations pro- duce metallurgical coal, primarily for overseas markets. Patriot's Federal No. underground mine and prep plant in Monongalia County, West Virginia, are not included in the Blackhawk deal. The UMWA represents Federal 2 miners. n e w s c o n t i n u e d Alberta's Environment Minister Goes Hard on Climate Change Even though the Canadian government has not adopted a formal policy on climate change, the new Provincial Government in Alberta has decided to lead an initiative. Alberta has oil, oil sands and sub- b ituminous coal, making it Canada's energy leader. "We need to do our part to address one of the world's biggest problems — climate change," said Alberta Minister of the Environment Shannon Phillips. In late June, she announced two steps in a renewed climate change commitment so that she and the province can at least be in a posi- tion to make a preliminary proposal in time for the COP21 World Summit in Paris at the end of the year. Alberta will renew its current, expiring regulations governing carbon emissions, Phillips explained. "Second, and more important, Dr. Andrew Leach, associate professor [and academic director of energy programs at the University of] Alberta School of Business, will chair an advisory panel that will comprehensively review Alberta's climate change policy and make a recommendation toward a permanent set of measures." Alberta's climate change policy, which was developed in 2007, was set to expire at the end of June. The $C2 fee per metric ton (mt) of carbon emissions (CO2) has now been increased to $C15/mt and will increase to $C30/mt by 2017. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 13 million mt during 2017. South African Union Considering Action if Glencore Retrenches The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa is report- edly ready to launch a legal fight against the government if operat- ing giant Glencore moves to cut 600 from its Optimum Coal division. NUM officials told Reuters that the miner did not comply with agreed plans as they relate to severance packages, and that the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) should enforce compliance. "We are consulting with our lawyers as to what recourse we will take against DMR if they fail and Glencore succeeds with retrenchment," NUM Deputy General Secretary William Mabapa told the news ser- vice. The possible move to lodge a legal claim comes after Glencore's announcement in early July that it would move forward with a closure plan for the Optimum operations, citing weak prices, and put some open-cast mines on care and maintenance. Should the market improve, operator officials told Reuters, they would examine reopening. Optimum produces about 10 million metric tons (mt) of coal each year. MCL to Construct 5 Prep Plants in India India's Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd. (CIL), has firmed up plans to construct five coal washeries close to its mines located across eastern coastal province of Orissa. According to a company official, contracts for implementing the washeries were in progress and successful bidders would be award- ed the project on "build-operate-maintain" basis on a 10-year licensing basis. The washeries will be built at Talcher with capacity of 10 million metric tons per year (mtpy); Ib Valley, 10 million mtpy; Lakhanpur, 20 mtpy; Sarmal, 40 million mtpy; and Kaniha, 20 million mtpy. The ash content from these mines averages about 40% and MCL intends to reduce it through beneficiation. MCL produced about 121 million Continued on p. 6... July 2015 www.coalage.com 5 W O R L D N E W S ¸ ˛ ˝ ¸ T O P 1 0 C O A L - P R O D U C I N G S T A T E S (in Thousand Short Tons) Week Ending (6/27/15) YTD '15 YTD '14 % Change Wyoming 171,969 188,396 -8.7 West Virginia 50,247 56,460 -11.0 entucky 34,207 38,847 -11.9 Pennsylvania 29,804 30,737 -3.0 Illinois 26,174 27,388 -4.4 Montana 18,912 19,591 -3.5 Texas 18,843 20,265 -7.0 Indiana 17,275 19,244 -10.2 North Dakota 13,476 14,578 -7.6 Colorado 10,975 11,605 -5.4 U.S. Total 441,188 483,914 -8.8