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eral Mine Safety and Health Administration. Production totaled about 4.8 million tons through the first three quarters of 2015. Signal Peak, Montana's only underground coal mine, is co- owned by two Ohio companies, FirstEnergy and Boich Cos., and Pinesdale LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gunvor Group Ltd., a Swiss commodity trader. FirstEnergy and Boich each sold a third of their ownership interest in the mine to Pinesdale several years ago. Most of the mine's coal is sold overseas. Cliffs Sells Remaining North American Coal Assets Cliffs Natural Resources sold the Pinnacle mine in West Virginia and Oak Grove mine in Alabama to Seneca Coal Resources. The $268 million deal is based on Seneca Coal assuming all liabili- ties. Additionally, Seneca Coal may pay Cliffs an earn out of up to $50 million contingent upon the terms of a revenue sharing plan, which extends through 2020. "The sale of Pinnacle and Oak Grove to Seneca Coal marks Cliffs' exit from the coal business, and represents another very important step in the implementation of our U.S. iron ore pel- l e t - c e n t r i c , e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y c o m p l i a n t s t r a t e g y , " s a i d Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO. "We are p l e a s e d t o h a v e f o u n d a b u y e r t h a t w a s a b l e t o a g r e e o n a transaction that not only brings real value to Cliffs sharehold- ers, but will also preserve jobs for the exceptional people at these two mines." The deal is structured as a sale of the equity interests of Cliffs' remaining coal business, which includes the legal entities of Cliffs North American Coal LLC; Pinnacle Mining Co. LLC; Pinnacle Land Co. LLC; Oak Grove Resources LLC; Oak Grove Land Co. LLC; and Beard Pinnacle LLC. Seneca is affiliated with West Virginia-based ERP Compliant Fuels LLC (ERP). Seneca plans to produce 4.4 million tons of met- allurgical coal in 2016 and employ 811 people in West Virginia and Alabama. ERP is engaged in rebalancing the supply of domestic coal through the purchase, reclamation and retirement of 135 mining permits in five states. ERP is actively marketing the sale of Compliant Fuel, which bundles reforestation carbon credits with coal sales, to reduce the rate of growth in atmospheric carbon dioxide. With the Seneca purchase, ERP will operate three under- ground longwall mines, producing more than 8 million tons of thermal and metallurgical coal annually. Peabody, UMWA Resolve Retiree Issue Peabody Energy and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), who were embroiled in a fight over retiree health care benefits for former Patriot Coal workers that were tied to the operator's bankruptcy case, have amended elements of the deal that will keep the benefits intact. Under the terms added to the agreement initially inked in 2013, Peabody will make 10 monthly payments of $7.5 million (for a total of $75 million) to the Patriot Retirees Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA). The payments will begin this month and run through October. The UMWA represents about 12,000 retirees as well as dependents and widows covered under the Patriot VEBA, which was established in 2013 to administer benefits following the Peabody bankruptcy filing. n e w s c o n t i n u e d Last UK Deep Mine Closes Friday, December 18 was the final day of work for 450 mines at the Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire, also known as the Big K, as the mine will permanently idle — bringing to an end a two-year closure plan for British deep mines. Kellingley, the largest deep pit in Europe and the last d eep mine in Britain, had employed about 1,600 in recent years, and at one time had a payroll exceeding 2,000. It first came online in 1965 and produced 900 metric tons (mt) per hour at prime levels. The final 450 min- ers will receive a severance package equal to 12 weeks of average pay. "[These] miners, the last in a long line stretching back for generations, are having to search for new jobs before the shafts that lead down to 30 mil- lion tons of untouched coal are sealed with concrete," said Phil Whitehurst, GMB union national officer. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) told Britain's Sky News that the colliery could have stayed open if the govern- ment had stepped in to help. Kellingley's owner, UK Coal, previously cited "extremely difficult trading conditions" for its decision to close the mine. Falling Indian Coal Imports Will Be the Trend Indian coal imports in the current fiscal (2015-2016) were expected to fall 10%-15% following rapid rise in domestic production and the trend has buoyed the Ministry of Coal to forecast achieving near self-suffi- ciency by 2017-2018. According to Ministry of Coal data, Indian coal imports recorded a fall for the five consecutive months during July- November 2015, while total inward shipment during the period April- November 2015 was down 9% at 119 million metric tons (mt) compared to 137 million mt during the corresponding period of previous year. "Coal imports will continue to decline in the current fiscal due to unprecedented rise in domestic production and imports will continue to decline through the remaining months of this fiscal," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said. Indian imports during 2014-2015 were 212 mt and given the falling trends over the past months, the ministry was expecting shipments to be at least 10-15% lower during the 12-month period ending March 31. The ministry said Coal India Ltd. (CIL), which accounted for over 80% of domestic supply of coal would continue to sustain growth in production and the country's import dependency would fall and all import end by 2017-2018. However, it added that small volume Continued on p. 8... January 2016 www.coalage.com 7 Continued from p. 6... Thousands of miners and their loved ones hold a sentimental solidarity march in North Yorkshire to mark the closure of Kellingley Colliery, Britain's last operating deep coal mine. The crowds and a marching band fill the streets Saturday, December 19, in Knottingley, 290 km north of London, one day after the final shift. (Photo: Jayda Locksmith)