A roundup of international coal news from May 28 to June 4.
North America
Canada: A railway strike stands to disrupt Canada's mining sector, one of its top customers, should it prove prolonged, halting the transport of bulk commodities such as potash and coal and cutting off supply of inputs such as fuels and chemicals on which mines may depend. "You're talking about millions of tonnes," said Brendan Marshall, a spokesperson for the Mining Association of Canada. "There's not a feasible alternative to move those goods." The worst case scenario, Marshall said, would be to cut back operations.
Europe
Norway: Norway's opposition party is facing a backlash for allegedly backpedaling from its vows to "close all loopholes" that allowed the country's $1 trillion wealth fund to remain invested in companies with large coal operations, Bloomberg News reported May 30. "We should already have put in place a significant tightening of the criteria since we, for example, can see that the fund is invested in companies that are building coal power plants," Bloomberg quoted Kari Elisabeth Kaski, a member of the committee for the Socialist Left, as saying. "Labor is running away from its earlier promises of a fund without coal."
Britain: Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland joined a growing number of financial institutions that are moving away from coal after it announced May 29 that it will no longer directly finance new coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines. The bank stated that it will cease lending money to mining and power companies that generate more than 40% of their revenues and electricity from coal, down from a previous threshold of 65%, Reuters reported.
Poland: Prairie Mining Ltd. said May 28 that it will appeal the Polish Ministry of Environment's decision to deny an amendment for the 50-year mining concession for the Debiensko coking coal project. Prairie Mining's appeal will be based on the grounds that the environment ministry's denial is fundamentally flawed for reasons including the failure to consider requirements of the law and public interest in Poland as well as the relevant facts of the company and its amendment application.
Asia
China: China is mulling over a plan to purchase more coal from the U.S. in a bid to slash its $375 billion merchandise trade deficit and ease the ongoing trade war between the two nations, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Chinese officials are looking to boost purchases from West Virginia in particular, the report said, noting that it was yet unclear if there are any plans to purchase the fossil fuel from other states.
Middle East
Turkey: A tax proposed by the Turkish government on a range of imported products from the U.S., including thermal coal, could potentially price U.S. coal out of Turkey, which could be bullish for Colombian sellers, market sources said May 31. "This will be status quo for Colombian sellers," a European trader said, explaining that, if implemented, it will keep Colombian producers competitive in the Turkish market.
Australia
Port Waratah Coal Services Ltd. scrapped plans for a A$5 billion coal terminal at the world's biggest coal port in Newcastle, opting to allow the lease to lapse in 2019 and save about A$100 million in land lease fees, ABC reported May 31.
PT Adaro Energy Tbk. secured the Australian government's approval to purchase an 80% stake in the Kestrel thermal and metallurgical coal mine in Queensland from Rio Tinto, The Jakarta Post reported May 31, citing Adaro Chief Legal Officer and director Mohammad Syah Indra Aman. Adaro is looking to close the US$2.25 billion acquisition by the end of third quarter.
Oakey Coal Action Alliance Inc. launched an appeal against the Queensland Supreme Court decision that overturned a previous land court ruling recommending scrapping the A$900 million expansion of New Hope Corp. Ltd.'s New Acland coal mine.
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., which purchased over A$2.5 billion worth of Australian coal in 2016, warned it would consider buying coal from other regions due to the looming shortfall of the commodity amid a dispute between Queensland and Aurizon Holdings Ltd., The Australian reported May 30.
BHP Billiton Group and the Queensland Treasury have reached an "agreement in principle" over royalty payments of about A$329 million from coal exported from the state's Bowen Basin, The Sydney Morning Herald reported May 28.
This feature was updated as of 10:58 a.m. ET on June 4. Some external links may require a subscription.