It is reported that coal mining junior Keaton Energy would start coal production at its Klipfontein project, in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, immediately after minerals & energy department granted its 74% held subsidiary, Keaton Mining, a mining permit for the project.

Mr James Duncan spokesperson of Keaton Energy said that it had appointed mining contractor Shumba Mining, which was local to the area in Mpumalanga, and already on site. It is expecting to sell its first coal to a local merchant next month. The mine would produce about 40,000 tonnes per month. Read more » »

Australian innovative energy company Linc Energy Ltd. announced late Thursday that it has agreed to sell its Teresa coal exploration permits to China-based Xinwen Mining Group for A$1.5 billion. The company had revealed in July that it intends to sell the Teresa coal deposits. Following the announcement, the Linc Energy stock is climbing nearly 41% on the Australian Securities Exchange.
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Xinwen Mining Group Ltd., producer of more than 35 million metric tons a year of coal in China, agreed to buy coal exploration permits in Australia for A$1.5 billion ($1.2 billion) to expand overseas.

Xinwen will buy the Teresa licenses in Queensland state from Linc Energy Ltd., Brisbane-based Linc Energy said today in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange. Linc had a record gain in Sydney trading on the exchange.
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Power-station coal prices at Australia’s Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia, were little changed last week as supply constraints at a storm-affected port in Vietnam offset declines in the price of oil.

The weekly index for power-station coal prices at the New South Wales state port fell 26 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $161.89 a metric ton in the week ended Aug. 29, according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index. Exports from the port in the week ended 7 a.m. today jumped 31 percent to 1.98 million tons, Newcastle Port Corp. said on its Web site.
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Australian Mining Boom Stokes Profits, Narrows Record Deficit

Australia’s mining boom, stoked by Chinese demand for coal and iron ore, helped boost company profits by the most in more than seven years and narrow the nation’s current account deficit from a record.

Company profits advanced 14.3 percent in the second quarter, more than six times the 2.3 percent median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, the government said today. A separate report showed the current account deficit narrowed for the first time in two years. Read more » »

Chinese top coal producer China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd announced that it lifted the value ceiling of coal deals with China Datang Corp for 2008, 2009 and 2010. The value ceiling for 2008 rose 25%. That for 2009 hiked 173% to CNY 10.802 billion and that for 2010 surged 160% to CNY 11.83 billion.

The move signifies that Shenhua Energy is fairly confident of future coal markups, and is expected to bring more economic return to the company. Mr Huang Qing Shenhua Energy Board Secretary said that it would possibly continue to adjust the ceiling of coal deals in the future.
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The South Korean company may also develop a coal deposit and transmission facilities as part of the power project, and expand into electricity sales, the Seoul-based company said today in an e-mailed statement.

Daewoo International Corp., a South Korean trading company, may invest about $300 million in a coal- fired power project in Madagascar, the company’s second electricity-generating venture in the country. The shares jumped.
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Coal India will give preference to companies that offer it an opportunity to develop and operate coal mines abroad in retrospect, the company said in its offer for expression of interest.

Coal India Ltd is awaiting expression of interest from corporations for jointly producing coal from 18 of its abandoned underground mines to secure future supplies of the fossil fuel.

A company executive told DNA Money that the joint venture partner doesn’t
necessarily have to be a foreign company. “It can be an Indian company with operations or access to coal fields outside the country.”
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Chile is one of Latin America’s star economies, driven by sales of its No. 1 export copper, but the country’s growth has been limited by dependence on its neighbors for fuel.

The country is seen becoming self-sufficient soon as new power supplies come on line, though opponents say Chile is selling out its environment in the name of development.

Environmentalists erected a 28-foot-tall coffin on Saturday to protest against plans to build a thermoelectric power plant they say will pollute Chile’s southern coastline.
The 750 MW plant to be built in Chile’s El Maule region by AES Gener, a unit of U.S. power company AES Corp, is aimed at helping reverse the South American country’s massive power deficit. Read more » »

The contract covers employees at 14 of ArcelorMittal’s U.S. flat carbon, long carbon and iron ore mining locations.

“We believe that we have reached a positive outcome for all parties involved without disruption to our business operations,” said Michael Rippey, president and CEO of ArcelorMittal USA.

ArcelorMittal and the United Steelworkers union reached a tentative agreement on Saturday on a new four-year contract that covers 14,000 of the steelmaker’s employees.
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