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Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/131326
news continued Continued from pg 5... In Q412, revenues from metallurgical coal were $181 million, 11.5% lower than Q312. The decrease was due to the lower average realized price of $132.49/mt vis-à-vis $177.97 in the last quarter, which was expected as its sales are priced with a lag and were thus impacted by the sharp fall in metallurgical coal prices in Q312. In 2012, metallurgical coal revenues reached $834 million compared to $548 million in 2011, while the average realized price fell to $171.38/mt from $235.27 in the same period. In Q412, revenues from sales of thermal coal were $21 million, equal to Q312, with even volumes and a slight increase in average sale price to $93.57/mt from $90.91 in the previous quarter. In 2012, sales Q412 volumes fell to 3.134 million mt from 5.342 million mt in 2011, while the average sale price fell to $82.39/mt from $95.54 in 2011. In February 2013, Vale declared force majeure on a number of coal sales contracts in Mozambique due to heavy rainfall—50% above the same period of 2011, that created serious challenges to the Linha do Sena railway. Vale estimates a loss of approximately 250,000 mt in metallurgical coal shipments. Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique, owner of the railway, is taking all the necessary measures expected to be normalized by the end of February. Chile's Gener Looks to Begin Cochrane Chilean power generator Gener expects to begin construction this year of the 532 mw Cochrane coal-fired plant with commercial operations starting in 2016, according to information from parent company AES's 2012 results conference call. Meanwhile, Gener's 270 mw Campiche unit at the Ventanas coal-fired plant is due to begin commercial operations in the coming weeks bringing the coal-fired plant's capacity to 884 mw. Coal Miners Up Production for Better Market in Indonesia Indonesian coal miners are gearing up for higher production levels this year as the global market is expected to perform better. According to The Jakarta Post, state-owned miner PT Bukit Asam (PTBA) has set a higher production target of 18 million to 20 million metric tons (mt) this year, a significant increase from last year's production total of 13.99 million mt. The company sold around 16 million mt of coal last year. PTBA said the company expected greater demand this year on the back of rising markets, particularly in China—Indonesia's main coal buyer—as the global economy recovers. Coal miners suffered from declining coal prices last year as China's economy slowed while the market had an oversupply due to growing coal production, including in Indonesia. The Asian coal market also saw more coal from American producers. The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry set the coal reference price (HBA) at $87.55/mt in January, an increase of around 7% compared to $81.75/mt last December. Despite the positive trend at the beginning of the year, PTBA expects coal prices to increase by only around 10% year-on-year and not be as high as in 2011. Meanwhile, another prime player in Indonesia's coal industry, PT Adaro Energy, expects to produce around 50 million to 53 million mt of coal this year, an increase of between 6% and 12% from last Continued on pg 8... 6 www.coalage.com January 23, 2013: A contract welder was attempting to remove a damaged portion of the center push blade metal liner on a bulldozer. The hydraulic jack slipped and the victim was crushed between the blade and the damaged wear plate. February 6, 2013: An engineer was killed when a hydraulic cylinder failed catastrophically. Prior to the accident, he was trouble shooting a plate-and-frame filter press that was being used to dewater coal slurry. February 7, 2013: A utility man/scoop operator was in the deck of a battery scoop and two miners were unloading trash from the metal scoop bucket insert onto the hoist for removal from the mine. The hoist elevated suddenly causing the scoop bucket, positioned over the hoist deck, to lift upward and slip away from the hoist deck. This motion caused the scoop to fall downward onto the mine floor. The two miners unloading trash were able to run to safety; however, the scoop operator cleared the operator's deck but was found beneath the scoop with fatal, crushing injuries. February 12, 2013: Four shield carriers derailed while moving longwall parts. In the process of putting one of the shield carriers back on the track, the load shifted and caused a pry bar to fly back and hit a miner in the head. February 13, 2013: The tail of the continuous miner swung back toward the continuous miner operator and pinned him against the rib. February 19, 2013: A miner, who normally operates a shuttle car, was shoveling the rib while working with a scoop operator cleaning road ways. The battery end of the scoop struck and crushed the miner. State Officials Step Up Enforcement in Illinois Illinois mine safety officials kicked off a mine safety crackdown in February at the state's 17 underground coal mines after a miner was killed in a continuous miner accident at Knight Hawk Coal Co.'s Prairie Eagle South mine in Perry County. The death of 28year-old Timothy Chamness, a continuous miner operator, was the second such fatality since mid-November in Illinois, a largely underground mining state that prides itself on an extremely low fatality rate. In the last decade, Illinois went five years without a fatal mining accident. In response to the Knight Hawk incident, Mike Woods, director of the Illinois Office of Mines and Minerals, dispatched the state's 14 mining inspectors to each deep mine with a singular message: Tell miners to stay out of the "red zone" at all times, or face punishment. Chamness was crushed to death when he was caught between the tail of the continuous miner and the coal rib, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration. On November 18, 2012, Chad Wayne Meyers, 30, was killed in similar fashion at the Willow Lake underground mine in Saline County. Willow Lake, which has closed, was operated by Big Ridge Inc., a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Peabody Energy. "If we catch someone in the red zone, inspectors have orders to remove them from the mine. And the supervisor shall be removed from the mine also and his papers suspended immediately," said Woods. "When the miner is tramming, there is no reason for you to ever be in the red zone. When the miner is backing out, there is no reason for a miner to be near the machine." March 2013