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Alpha Natural Resources filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last August. At the time, it secured an 18-month debtor-in-possession (DIP) package totaling $692 million from Citigroup. Government Pushing Back on Alpha Executive Bonuses The trustee division of the U.S. Justice Department has filed an objection to a plan by Alpha Natural Resources to distribute $11.9 million in bonuses to its executives. The agency said in a formal filing that the compensation could not be justified "under the facts and circumstances" of the case and that it simply cannot afford it while suffering financial problems and axing benefits for its workforce. The plan was a revised one, as Alpha had initially sought to pay 17 executives a total of about $14.8 million. After creditor negotiations, it entered a plan for 15 executives and $11.9 mil- lion. In its filing with the plan, the company reportedly said the bonuses were needed to retain its officials as it sifts through bankruptcy. Alpha filed for Chapter 11 protection last August in the U.S. B a n k r u p t c y C o u r t f o r t h e E a s t e r n D i s t r i c t o f V i r g i n i a i n Richmond. Arch Coal Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Arch Coal, which has been fairly steadfast as the nation's No. 2 coal miner, confirmed January 11 that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to eliminate about $4.5 billion in years-old debt load. The St. Louis-based producer said it has reached a deal w i t h m o s t o f i t s l e n d e r s t i e d i n t o i t s $ 1 . 9 b i l l i o n f i r s t - l i e n financing facility to restructure the debt, some of which it has carried since its 2011 takeover of International Coal Group (ICG). Arch, which missed a $90 million interest payment on its debt last month, further fueling talk of bankruptcy, has been one of the many miners weighed down by low coal prices, falling seaborne demand and increasingly strict environmen- tal regulations. Arch said it and "substantially all" of its wholly-owned sub- sidiaries in the U.S. filed voluntary petitions in the United States n e w s c o n t i n u e d China Set to Slash Steel, Coal Output China, the world's biggest steel and coal producer, will cut excess steel capacity by 100 to 150 million metric tons (mt) in the two key sectors as part of the painful restructuring of the world's second l argest economy, according to The Economic Times. During the meeting, Premier Li Keqiang underlined the urgency and the government's resolve to cut excess capacity in steel and coal industries, as the country strives to restructure its economy, which saw its lowest growth in 25 years at 6.9% last year. The state council did not specify the deadline for such a cut, but pointed out that China has cut its production capacity of crude steel by more than 90 million mt in recent years, as reported by the state- run Xinhua news agency. China will reduce the production capacity of coal by "a relatively large margin," according to the statement. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal. Anglo American to Sell Callide Mine Anglo American will sell its 100% interest in the Callide thermal coal mine in Queensland, Australia, to Batchfire Resources. The transac- tion remains subject to several conditions precedent, and its terms are confidential. Callide consists of an open-pit thermal coal mine and associated processing infrastructure that produced 7.6 million metric tons (mt) of coal in 2014 (and 5.6 million mt in the first nine months of 2015), the majority of which (4.7 million mt in 2014) was sold to two adjacent power stations under long-term contracts. Coal India to Rationalize Domestic Coal Pricing in Current Year Coal India Ltd. (CIL) will rationalize coal prices based on Gross Calorific Value (GCV) before the end of the current fiscal year, but ruled out any move to align it with the international price of coal. A senior official in the Ministry of Coal said the country's largest miner had already initiated an exercise to rationalize coal prices across all grades based on GCV and CIL would be in a position to revise the prices before March 31. International prices will keep fluctuating and might even go up in the future, but ensuring a rational domestic price based on GCV of supplies will ensure stable heat rate at thermal power plants. It will also protect consumers, since the electricity tariff or the end product of fossil fuel was government administered and free pricing of fuel did not economically align with an end product that is administered, the official said. Canada's Quinsam Mine to Idle Hillsborough Resources' Quinsam underground mine on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, will be idled indefinitely and put up for sale, the operator said, citing continued volatile coal prices. The thermal room-and-pillar operation in Campbell River, in operation since 1987, will be placed into care and maintenance and its workforce of 66 will be "reduced significantly," the privately held company said. Quinsam primarily serves the cement industry. It is the fifth British Columbia coal operation in two years to close. Continued on p. 6... February 2016 www.coalage.com 5 W O R L D N E W S ¸ ˛ ˝ ¸ T O P 1 0 C O A L - P R O D U C I N G S T A T E S (in Thousand Short Tons) Week Ending (1/30/16) YTD '16 YTD '15 % Change Wyoming 23,935 34,785 -31.2 West Virginia 6,095 9,514 -35.9 Illinois 4,075 5,870 -30.6 entucky 3,759 5,878 -36.0 Pennsylvania 3,132 4,795 -34.7 Montana 2,824 3,816 -26.0 Indiana 2,244 3,305 -32.1 North Dakota 1,843 2,588 -28.8 Texas 1,764 2,782 -36.6 Colorado 1,198 1,838 -34.8 U.S. Total 56,737 83,890 -32.4