AUSTRALIA – Gina Rinehart’s multi-billion-dollar Alpha coal mine and rail project in central Queensland has been granted Federal Government approval.

The Commonwealth had been unhappy about Queensland Premier Campbell Newman’s decision to fast-track approvals for the $6.9 billion project.

It had threatened to take back control of major environmental approvals from the State Government amid a public war of words.

The Commonwealth had been concerned the rail loop, earthworks and construction work needed to transport coal from the mine could affect the Great Barrier Reef.

The approval on Thursday came with 19 conditions which Environment Minister Tony Burke says he is satisfied will protect the reef.

“It’s important to note the standards that have been imposed by the Commonwealth are welcomed by the company,” he said.

“In a statement from [Alpha coal partner] GVK today, they said GVK chose to invest in Australia because of its low political risk coupled with strong environmental and safety standards.”

The State Government says the project will create thousands of jobs and inject $1 billion into the state’s economy each year.

Queensland’s Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney says it is a major boost for the state.

“The Galilee Basin generally is a huge resource for the people of Queensland for generations to come,” he said.

But Barcaldine Mayor Rob Chandler says a number of property owners have concerns.

“Obviously there are going to some land holders that are displaced, some who are going to be disrupted,” he said.

Source: www.abc.net.au/

The company, target of a $28-billion takeover bid by Glencore International Plc, reported Tuesday that its first-half net income fell to $1.94-billion from $2.92 billion in the year-earlier period.

Revenue in the six months ended June 30 fell 7 per cent to $15.55-billion from $16.78-billion as prices for nickel, copper and coal all fell.

“Our financial performance in the first half of the year reflected a cyclical downturn in commodity prices and the transition to our next generation of lower-cost mines,” Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis said in a statement accompanying the results.

“Against the background of lower prices and ongoing cost inflation, our operational performance remained robust,” he added. “Second-quarter volumes rose across the group, providing us with good momentum to achieve our expectations of higher volumes in the second half.”

A Queensland hamlet is asking Xstrata to pay it at least $100 million if the global mining giant decides to proceed with a multi-billion coal mine in the area.

Wandoan, home to just 380 people, is one of a growing number of small towns that risk being overwhelmed by Australia’s fast-paced mining boom. The hamlet is a five-hour drive from Brisbane and in the middle of farming and cattle-grazing country.

Mining firms often pay communities a token amount before commencing on projects, but industry experts said the amount Wandoan was requesting was unusual.

“Someone has to pay and, I’m sorry, it shouldn’t be my community and residents,” said Ray Brown, the mayor of the Western Downs Regional Council. “This is a starting point.”

Mr Brown said the $100 million would go towards paying for some of the infrastructure needed to host a mine, including an airport, roads and water and sewerage networks.

The fee, however, does not include the cost of housing for the 1300 workers the mine will employ.

“I know it does happen on a much smaller scale … what seems to be possibly unique about this is the size of the funding,” Gavin Wendt, an analyst with MineLife in Sydney said of the amount the Wandoan was asking for. “It does make a lot of sense from their perspective.”

Mr Brown said the council had been negotiating with Xstrata for about two years to reach an agreement on costs.

Asked when it planned to sign the agreement, Xstrata did not immediately respond and a spokesman said that once signed, the agreement would still depend on whether the company would go ahead with the mine project.

Small communities across Australia have struggled to house and provide services for the sudden influx of thousands of workers from the mining boom.

The flood of highly paid, mostly male mining workers has also meant that some towns are hit with price inflation and outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases.

The Wandoan mine project, which would produce 22 million tonnes of coal per year, has yet to receive final approval from Xstrata, but the company expects to receive a mining lease for the development in the fourth quarter of this year.

Reuters

AUSTRALIA – Coal magnate Nathan Tinkler last night made a formal bid for Whitehaven Coal with the aim of taking the miner under his private control.

Whitehaven is the emerging force in the Australian Coal mining industry. As the leading coal producer in NSW’s Gunnedah Basin, we they have a market capitalisation of more than $5 billion.

Following discussions with the Coalworks Board, Whitehaven agreed to revise its offer of $1.00 per Coalworks share to include an in specie distribution to the Coalworks’ shareholders of shares in Orpheus Energy Limited held by Coalworks.

The formal bid, lodged three hours after the sharemarket close, was $5.20 cash for each Whitehaven share.

This compares with Whitehaven’s closing price of $3.45, which was down 8¢ on the day and near a three-year low.

Mr Tinkler’s Tinler Group already owns 21.4 per cent of Whitehaven, a New South Wales-based coal producer with operations and development projects in the Gunnedah Basin and Hunter Valley as well as in Queensland.

It said Tinkler Group had advised that key Whitehaven shareholders representing 48.3 per cent of the company’s shares had expressed their interest in rolling their shares into the Tinkler Group bid vehicle, subject to the satisfactory completion of due diligence and required documentation.

Tinkler Group’s proposal is supported by conditional letters of support from senior lenders UBS, JPMorgan and Barclays and due diligence would take place over a four-week period.

Whitehaven has agreed not to solicit other proposals during this period.

A committee of independent Whitehaven directors said they had concluded that it was in the best interests of shareholders to enable Tinkler Group to conduct due diligence so it could develop its proposal. They said they had taken account of the premium represented by the proposed $5.20-a-share offer to Whitehaven’s recent share prices. However, they noted that the proposal was still conditional and subject to a committed funding package. AAP
Source: smh.com.au

BHP, the world’s biggest diversified mining company, in April invoked a declaration of force majeure as it struggles to meet overseas supply contracts. Force majeure is a legal manoeuvre releasing companies from supply obligations due to circumstances beyond their control.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) said the discussions were being held under a mediation process to end the dispute with BHP and its joint venture partner in the mines, Mitsubishi Corp of Japan.

About 3,500 union workers, of a total workforce of 10,000, have staged temporary work stoppages at each of the six mines under the partnership, in order to disrupt mining and shipping schedules.

“Both sides acknowledge that the success of mediation will rely on confidential, good faith discussions to which all have given their full commitment,” the CFMEU said in a statement.

Neither side would comment while the mediation process was underway.

Union workers in the past, acting as a single bargaining unit, rejected an offer of a wage hike of 5 per cent a year for the next three years, plus a guaranteed $15,000 per year bonus.

The Electrical Trades Union, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and the CFMEU are grouped under the single unit.

Source: Reuters

The replacement area will have a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year of metallurgical coal and will sustain Illawarra Coal’s production capacity at 9 million tonnes per year. Appin Area 9 will be operational in 2016 and will replace production at the West Cliff Mine. The project includes roadway development, new ventilation infrastructure, new and reconfigured conveyors and other mine services.

Illawarra Coal is 100 per cent owned by BHP Billiton!

Metallurgical Coal primarily produces and markets high quality hard coking coals for the international steel industry. In addition, we supply a wide range of other coal qualities to satisfy specific customer requirements. Production is from our low cost asset base located in Queensland (predominantly open cut mines owned in an alliance with Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd ) and New South Wales (100 per cent underground operations).

Metallurgical coal is an essential raw material in the production of steel which is used in buildings, household items and other goods and services that modern societies need.

BHP Billiton Metallurgical Coal’s operations are strategically located in areas with seaborne access to key steel producing regions, delivering logistical advantages to our customers. We have access to dedicated deepwater ports allowing the use of large capacity vessels to further build on regional logistic advantages.

With long life reserves, a strong portfolio of undeveloped resources and key infrastructure, we have the flexibility to continually expand our production capacity in line with customer needs.

The development has received all necessary regulatory approvals.

BHP Billiton Metallurgical Coal President, Hubie van Dalsen, said: “The investment sustains Illawarra Coal’s production rates and recognises the value of its high quality metallurgical coal resources.

“It is also good news for local jobs and the economy in the region.”

Furnaces and factories are running less often because of a record-breaking warm winter and still-stagnant economy. Cheap natural gas is gaining on coal’s lead as a fuel for generating electricity.

Federal air-pollution rules that take effect in three years are triggering early retirements of older coal-fired power plants, instead of upgrades to curb emissions. Tougher regulations are sure to follow a 2010 explosion at a mine in West Virginia that killed 29 miners.

The spot market price for Western Pennsylvania coal fell 1.4 percent in mid-February to its current $70.05 a short ton, U.S. Energy Information Administration figures show. Production in Pennsylvania rose 1.3 percent last year, better than the 0.5 percent reported nationwide.

“Coal producers are generally thinking this is going to be a rough year,” said Thomas Hoffman, an Upper St. Clair energy communications consultant. “There is a lot of discussion in the industry about the degree to which higher coal exports can offset some of the expected domestic decline because of mild weather, low-priced natural gas and shutdowns of some coal-fired power plants.”

Read more: Dark days for coal: Can exports save it? – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_787045.html#ixzz1pSX8R5qX