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Walter, which also owns the partially idled JWR No. 4 and No. 7 mines in Alabama, reportedly told Mitchell that its cash on hand will be gone this month. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) represented a b o u t 1 , 2 8 0 a c t i v e a n d f u r l o u g h e d W a l t e r E n e r g y w o r k e r s a n d a n o t h e r 2 , 7 0 0 r e t i r e e s a n d d e p e n d e n t s . I t a n d f e l l o w union United Steelworkers (USW) had objected to Walter's proposal. UMWA President Cecil Roberts called the decision "extreme- ly disappointing but not surprising" to the union. "I want to be very clear: This decision does nothing to slow our effort to maintain a union contract at Walter Energy oper- ations nor does it end our fight to maintain retiree health care benefits. If anything, it strengthens our resolve in this battle," he said, adding that the union is hopeful the two can still reach a deal. "We will not be turned around. We will prevail." Walter's Chapter 11 case is legally known as In re Walter Energy Inc., 15-02741, and does not include the company's Canadian or U.K. assets. Signal Peak to Move Forward With Mine Expansion Signal Peak Energy is hoping to move forward in 2016 with a planned 7,100-acre expansion to secure the long-term future of its Signal Peak longwall bituminous coal mine in Montana, but much may hinge on the outcome of late December negotiations over a disputed permit for the project. The company is forecasting lower production in the new year, about 5.5 million tons, down from the mine's record high of 8.6 million tons in 2013. The decrease, however, reflects soft coal markets and not the uncertainty over an October 2013 per- mit issued by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, according to company spokesman Mike Dawson. Dawson said, "due to pressures from soft coal markets and a lower production budget for 2016, Signal Peak Energy has been forced to restructure its workforce." That resulted in a reduc- tion in full-time employees from 303 to 237 heading into 2016. Eight positions were eliminated during the realignment, he said. The affected employees, primarily underground miners, were offered a severance package and will be eligible for rehire as jobs become available, he added. The layoffs and production decrease are totally unrelated to the ongoing permit brouhaha that company officials warn could lead to the mine's complete shutdown in mid-2016 if it is not resolved favorably. The Montana Board of Environmental Review dealt a potentially lethal blow to Signal Peak in October when it rejected the 2013 expansion permit. The board agreed with the Montana Environmental Information Center's (MEIC) permit objections that focus on mining's potential impact on the area's water quality. Signal Peak Energy, which said the 7,100 acres contains an estimated 110 million tons of recoverable coal, enough to last the mine another decade or so, has been negotiating a possible deal with MEIC and the review board that would allow the mine to continue operating. The board of environmental review is scheduled to meet again on January 14. Signal Peak's production has been declining over the past couple of years. Following its high mark in 2013, the mine's out- put decreased to 7.9 million tons in 2014, according to the fed- n e w s c o n t i n u e d Walter Canada to Sell Assets Walter Energy Canada Holdings entered protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act of Canada (CCAA), which essentially will allow continued operations at its Canadian and British mines as it attempts to divest them. The CCAA was granted f ollowing a December 7 Initial Order (IO) the producer filed with the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The protection is somewhat equivalent to pre-bankruptcy in the U.S.; it is intended to help a com- pany restructure its finances to avoid bankruptcy while still allowing for creditor payments. The move is completely separate from Walter Energy's U.S. Chapter 11 filing. Officials confirmed in July when the case was initially filed that only domestic assets, not any Canada or U.K. assets, were included in its reorganization. Westmoreland Signs Supply Extension With SaskPower in Canada Westmoreland Coal lengthened a long-term supply deal with Saskatchewan Power Corp. (SaskPower) by an additional 14 years. The deal, which includes more than 58 million tons, will now run through the end of 2029. The coal will originate at Westmoreland's Poplar River surface mine in the south-central Saskatchewan town of Coronach. The mine has been supplying coal to SaskPower's Poplar River Generating Station since 1978. China: No New Coal Mines for 3 Years China is suspending the approval of any new coal mines for three years to eliminate stockpiles and increase new-energy consumption, according to China Daily. Nur Bekri, director of the National Energy Administration said during a conference in December that with pro- duction overcapacity expected to last for quite some time, green and low-carbon forms of energy will be the main focus of the 13 th five-year plan (2016-2020). Bekri said the administration also plans to shut down 60 million metric tons (mt) worth of outdated production capacity in 2016. During the same time period, he said, more effort will be put into coastal nuclear power plants with new installed wind power capacity expected to reach more than 20 million kilowatts (kW) and that for solar power to reach 15 million kW. Wollongong to Restart Wongawilli in Australia After putting the mine into a care-and-maintenance status last year, New South Wales-based Wollongong Coal is moving toward a restart of operations at the Wongawilli mine in the Australian state and adding 110 workers. The move comes just three weeks after the New South Wales Planning Assessment Commission (NSW PAC) gave a greenlight to a five-year extension of the operation's mining license. It had been idled since late August 2014. Officials told ABC News Australia that pro- duction should begin again this year. "Wongawilli Colliery is an impor- tant asset for the company and a key part of our long-term strategy for extracting and exporting high-quality coking coal for the production of steel and generating local employment opportunities," Operations Manager Rhys Brett said. "We will now begin preliminary planning and discussions with key stakeholders in the expectations that operations at Wongawilli will recommence in early 2016." The producer has signed a two-year deal with Australian contractor miner Delta SBD to manage the restart as well as offer technical, personnel and equipment assistance. Continued from p. 5... 6 www.coalage.com January 2016 Continued on p. 7...