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Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/174138
news continued Continued from pg 6... financing for coal. Recently, the bank drew up new guidelines that propose an emissions cap of 550 grams per KWh, meaning that the only new fossil fuel plants it is likely to support will be natural gas. CIL Signs FSAs with 16 Private Power Projects Economic Times reported that in a major relief to the fuel starved power sector, state run monopoly supplier Coal India Ltd. (CIL) has signed agreements to supply coal to 16 private power projects with a generation capacity of more than 14,000 MW. With these longpending fuel supply agreements in place, seven of these projects can be commissioned as early as the next quarter, while the rest would start power generation between January and September 2014. The coal ministry has expedited the signing of these pacts in view of the center's drive to revive investor sentiment by jumpstarting large stalled investments. The ministry is pursuing similar fuel supply pacts for nine more power projects. A senior government official said that "the development is significant as no private sector power project has had coal linkages since 2009." Ukraine Will Boost Coal Output Ukraine plans to boost its coal output to 105 million metric tons per year (mtpy) from about 86 million mtpy currently as part of strategy to improve energy independence, said President Viktor Yanukovych. He said Ukraine will keep converting its fossil fuel burning power plants from the use of natural gas toward the use of coal to increase domestic demand for coal. Mongolia Pins Coal Export Ranking Hopes on Railway Mongolia will have a better chance of regaining its position as the top exporter of coal used to smelt steel in China after a railway is completed in late 2015, according to the chief executive of Mongolian Mining. "Competitiveness of Mongolian coal is strongest in the China market due to its geographical proximity, but it has been hampered by the major obstacle of transportation," said Battsengel Gotov. "With the expected completion of a railway by the end of 2015, Mongolia will make a comeback." Gotov made the comment, according to the South China Morning Post, after the company posted a net loss of $25.2 million for the first half of the year, against a profit of $31 million a year earlier, due to lower coal prices and higher finance costs. India Experiences Seasonal Adjustment in Coal Imports Reuters reported that India's thermal coal imports rose in June at their fastest pace in 2013 and jumped by more than half from a year ago as traders and power utilities stocked up to get through the monsoon season. Provisional data from government sources showed that the surge in shipments at the world's fourth largest coal importer is bad news for India, which is restricting imports of commodities such as gold and silver in an attempt to halt a three-month slump in its currency. The rupee has fallen to an all-time low of 64.13 against the U.S. dollar. The decline in currency is making the imports costlier even as international coal prices are weakening. It has raised the urgency for domestic producers, such as Coal India Ltd. to lift their flagging output. Data obtained by Reuters showed that thermal coal shipments to India were 12 million mt in June up 52.5% from 7.9 million mt Continued on pg 10... 8 www.coalage.com miners and stakeholders to measure a mine's performance against MSHA's specific screening criteria for violations. The S&S; Rate Calculator allows users to determine a mine's rate of S&S; violations for any specific date range. Users need only the mine's seven-digit ID number to find data. The S&S; rate calculator is available at: www.msha.gov/DRS/ SNSRateCalculator.asp. Hallador Reviews Two New Mine Projects For the moment, the Carlisle underground coal mine in southern Indiana is Hallador Energy's only active coal mine. But it may not always be the company's flagship operation, as the Illinois Basin (IB) steam coal producer is pursuing two new deep mine projects in Illinois that eventually could triple its annual output to about 9 million tons. Carlisle in Sullivan County, operated by Hallador's Sunrise Coal subsidiary, is experiencing production growth again this year and should wind up with about 3.4 million tons for 2013, according to Brent Bilsland, Hallador's president. The mine produced about 3 million tons in 2012 when some electric utility customers told the company they did not need all their coal because of several factors, including a mild winter of 2011-12 and historically low natural gas prices. Bilsland is bullish about the IB and what he sees as Hallador's expanding role in the high-sulfur basin. Carlisle had 43.5 million tons of reserves as of December 31, 2012. The company recently began blending low-sulfur coal from its new Ace-in-the-Hole surface mine in Clay County, Ind., with Carlisle's high-sulfur coal to meet the lower-sulfur specifications required by an unidentified customer. Carlisle has a guaranteed 6-lb SO2 product. But with the addition of Ace-in-the-Hole, the company can guarantee a mid-sulfur product that is expected to command a higher price and increase its customer base. Hallador said few mines in the IB have the ability to offer their customers various ranges of SO2. Carlisle has supplied coal to 11 different power plants. Ace-in-the-Hole's maximum capacity is pegged at 500,000 tons annually. The mine currently has 20% of its capacity contracted for 2013 and 2014. Going forward, the company is eyeing major production growth from its proposed Bulldog mine near Allerton in Vermilion County, Ill., and the Russellville mine proposed for Lawrence County, Ill. Hallador launched the permitting process for Bulldog in the summer of 2011. It filed the formal permit application with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the appropriate federal regulators in June 2012. The company currently expects to receive an approved mining permit in the first quarter of 2014. Full-scale mine development will not begin, however, until the company has secured a sales commitment for Bulldog. Hallador has leased roughly 19,300 acres and controls an estimated 35.6 million tons of coal reserves for Bulldog. The company also has leased about 11,000 acres containing an estimated 29.4 million tons of reserves for Russellville. Bilsland said the permitting process for the new mine is expected to start this fall and Hallador anticipates filing the formal permit application with regulatory agencies during the second quarter of 2014. September 2013