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July/August 2018 www.coalage.com 5 news continued w o r l d n e w s Court Levies Hefty Jail Sentences for Soma Mine Disaster An Akhisar district court in the Turkish province of Aegean Manisa handed out four prison sentences relating to the Soma coal mine disaster, where 301 miners perished in the country's deadliest mine disaster during May 2014. On July 11, the court sentenced Can Gürkan, the mine owner, to 15 years and the mine's general manager, Ramazan Do ğru, to 22.5 years, according to the Hurriyet Daily News. The mine's operations director while his deputy, İsmail Adalı, was given a sentence of 22.5 years. The prosecutor had previously demanded the arrest of Soma Holding Chairman Alp Gürkan in March, but the court refused this demand. A total of 51 people were accused of failing to provide adequate safety measures. More than 700 miners were inside the mine when a fire erupted during a shift change. SUEK Produces 55.6M of Coal in 1H 2018 The Siberian Coal Energy Co. (SUEK), the largest coal producer in Russia, reported 55.6 million metric tons (mt) of coal for the first half of 2018, representing a 4% increase over the same period in 2017. Sales volumes during the period increased by 12% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 59.9 million mt of coal. SUEK's international sales reached 28.6 million mt of coal for the first six months of the year, representing a 6% growth year-on- year. The core directions of international sales were South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Viet- nam, Spain and Morocco. Domestic sales growth was 18% year- on-year to 31.3 million mt of coal, 25.8 million of mt of which were shipped to power generating companies. SUEK owns 26 coal mining operations, nine wash plants and processing facilities, three ports, transportation and service facilities in eight regions of Russia. Delhi on Verge of Blackout During early July, Delhi's Power Minister Satyendra Kumar Jain warned of a blackout in the nation's capital, claiming that the Badarpur and Dadri I and II power plants had only days of coal sup- plies. There should have been stocks for at least 15 days, Jain said, according to the India Times, while interacting with the media on the sidelines of the power ministers' conference at Kufri. He said it was the duty of NTPC to arrange the coal and it was not the job of the Delhi government. Jain also said the rise in demand was a good sign because it indicated a growing economy and per capita income, and now environmental clearance was needed to start more mines. Prices for Australian Thermal Coal Moves Higher The spot price for Australian coal exported through the Port of New- castle reached $120 per metric ton (mt) during early July. Accord- ing to the Economic Times, that's the highest price since November 2012 and up by 140% from record lows in late 2015/early 2016. The price surge has been driven by strong demand from China and spot market buying by Japanese utilities. Japanese utilities tradi- tionally purchase most of their coal under long-term deals, which they negotiate with suppliers. Negotiations between Tohoku Electric Power and Glencore broke down recently after they failed to reach an agreement. Traders said this forced Tohoku into the spot market to cover anticipated demand for the rest of the year. Ukraine Coal Production Reaches 2.6M in June In June, the coal mining enterprises of Ukraine extracted 2,549,380 metric tons (mt) of coal, according to the Trade Union of Coal Min- ing Industry of Ukraine and the Ministry of Energy. The enterprises Continued on p. 6... top 10 coal-producing states The domestic market for met coal is good as well, Justice said, with the recovering U.S. steel industry comprising the primary customer base. Few if any U.S. coal producers have traveled Bluestone's own- ership path during the past decade. In 2009, Russian conglom- erate OAO Mechel paid $436 million in cash and 83.3 million preferred shares of Mechel stock to West Virginia billionaire Jim Justice for Bluestone Coal, then a subsidiary of Bluestone Indus- tries of Beckley, West Virginia. Jim Justice, Jay's father, now is the state's Republican governor. Just six years later, Jim Justice reacquired Bluestone from Mechel for a mere $5 million in cash and renamed the com- pany Bluestone Resources Inc. in one of the most seemingly lopsided deals in U.S. coal industry history. At the time, Mechel Bluestone claimed it had been losing some $60 million annually since 2012. Almost simultaneously, Jim Justice purchased The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, for about $23 mil- lion from CSX Corp. Before the acquisition, the Greenbrier was near bankruptcy. U.S. President Donald Trump met with Jim Jus- tice and gave a speech at the resort in early July. Since the Bluestone repurchase, U.S. met coal prices and de- mand have enjoyed an upswing that continues into 2018. That should bode well for Bluestone, which controls more than 565 million tons of high-quality met-coal reserves. Bluestone also operates the 39A low-vol met mine near Keystone and Red Fox mid-vol met mine near Bishop, West Virginia. Both are surface mines. And, it operates two other un- derground mines — No. 57 near Kimball, West Virginia, and Paycar No. 58 near Keystone. Today, Bluestone is increasing both its workforce and produc- tion. Jay Justice said he believes the brewing trade confrontation between the U.S. and China "will all get worked out." NMA: Americans Agree Coal Plants Deserve Government Support As the debate continues over potential government action to pre- vent further retirements of coal and nuclear power plants, a new poll conducted by Morning Consult for the National Mining As- (in Thousand Short Tons) Week Ending (6/30/18) YTD '18 YTD '17 % Change Wyoming 151,494 152,535 -0.7 West Virginia 47,004 46,964 0.1 Illinois 24,714 25,536 -3.2 Pennsylvania 24,248 25,238 -3.9 Kentucky 21,031 22,812 -7.8 Montana 16,275 15,043 8.2 Texas 15,614 17,144 -8.9 Indiana 15,411 16,013 -3.8 North Dakota 13,281 13,818 -3.9 Colorado 8,330 8,155 2.1 U.S. Total 375,372 384,115 -2.3