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MAY 2019 VOL. 124 NO. 4

May 2019 www.coalage.com 1

feature articles

16 Rigging Crushers to Reduce Downtime

Drive system solutions are designed to protect

equipment when processing rocky coal

20 Next-generation Solution Distributes

Power Underground

Modular systems save time and money while

advancing mine sections

24 Trade Disputes and Increased Demand

Cause Shifts in International Coal Markets

Coal quality has an influence, but China sets

the prices for now

28 Staying on Top of Stockpile Management

Smarter, quicker solutions emerge for measuring

and controlling stockpile size and quality

leading developments

4 Paringa Delivers First Coal to Customers

4 Queensland Approves Olive Downs Coking

Coal Project

5 Contura Energy Greenlights Lynn

Branch Projects

u.s. news

6 CONSOL Energy Starts Development of

Itmann Mine

6 Lawsuit Against Justice Coal Companies

Seeks Nearly $5M

7 CCTC Signs $1M Agreement With

University of Wyoming

10 Judge Rules in Favor of Environmental Groups

Over Coal Moratorium

11 IP&L Signs New Coal Supply Contract

12 Report Recommends Retirement of 3 of 4

CWLP Coal Units

13 Xcel Energy Will End Coal Use in Upper Midwest

worldwide news

8 South Africa Awaits Coal Asset Sale

9 Queensland Accepts Yancoal’s Cameby

Downs Mine Expansion

9 SCCL Expedites Coal Mining Projects

to Meet Fuel Needs

14 Peabody Advances Re-ventilation of

North Goonyella

15 Bryn Bach Coal Wants to Extend Operation at

Glan Lash

departments

2 Editorial

4 Leading Developments News

6 U.S. News

8 Worldwide News

11 People

12 Dateline Washington

15 Calendar

32 Operating Ideas

34 Suppliers News

36 Product News

38 Classifieds

40 Legally Speaking

This month, Coal Age offers insight into global coal markets.

On the cover, the Poplar Grove mine loads its first barge of

coal at the Ainsworth Dock on the Green River in Kentucky.

(Photo: Paringa Resources).

this issue

NEWS/4

POWER DISTRIBUTION/20 MATERIAL HANDLING/28

CRUSHING SYSTEMS/16

http://www.coalage.com

May 20162 www.coalage.com

editor’s note

Coal Helps Turn the Tide

in Australian Elections

The left lost another major election it thought it was

sure to win. This time it was the election of Scott

Morrison as Australia’s prime minister. Coal mining and

exports played a significant role in the outcome. Believ-

ing that Australians wanted the government to fight cli-

mate change, the mainstream media got it wrong again,

similar to other recent national referendums, such as

Brexit and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The cen-

ter-right Liberal-National Coalition government, which

has had three leaders in six years, increased its hold on

the Australian parliament while the Labor party lost

seats in coal-rich Queensland and New South Wales.

Morrison once held a lump of coal in parliament

and reminded voters that no renewable energy source is as efficient as car-

bon. Australia’s Labor party had pledged a 45% emissions reduction tar-

get and 50% renewables by 2030. Does this scenario sound familiar? Prime

Minister Morrison celebrated the win standing with his family before a po-

dium carrying the slogan, “Building Our Economy. Securing Your Future.” It

appears Australians voted in favor of sustained economic growth.

The Australian election outcome should also provide some relief

to proud Queensland coal operators. For years, they have watched as

Queensland Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her administration

blocked investment by dragging their feet on the approval process. They

listened in disbelief as she told the world’s largest coal exporting region to

prepare for “workforce reskilling.” If she learns nothing else from this elec-

tion, she should realize it is time to start listening to her constituents, espe-

cially those supporting the Queensland mining industry.

Immediately after Morrison won, Ian Macfarlane, CEO for the Queens-

land Resource Council, said the Palaszczuk government needs to reaffirm

its support for the resource industry and resource jobs, with a commitment

for long-term royalty stability and a fair go for all projects. “You don’t need

to work in a mine to depend on a strong resources industry,” Macfarlane

said. “Our industry supports 315,000 Queenslanders, generates more than

$60 billion for the economy and delivers 80% of the state’s exports. We also

support more than 14,000 small businesses across the state.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the LNP, particularly

through Resources Minister Matt Canavan, were quite outspoken about

their support for coal and the resources industry. Queenslanders respond-

ed and voted for jobs. Now, the Queensland Labor Government needs to

stop moving the goal posts and let Adani Mining move forward with the

Carmichael Project.

www.coalage.com

Coal Age, Volume 124, Issue 4, (ISSN 1040-7820) is published monthly ex- cept January and July, by Mining Media International, Inc., 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306, Jacksonville, Florida 32224 (mining-media.com). Pe-riodicals postage paid at Jacksonville, FL, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 41450540. Canada return address: PO Box 2600, Mississauga ON L4T 0A8, Email: [email protected]. Current and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms and an editorial calendar, are available online at www.coalage.com.

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BY STEVE FISCOR

PUBLISHER &

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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4 www.coalage.com May 2019

leading developments

Paringa Delivers First Coal to Customers

Paringa Resources Ltd. has delivered

first coal from the Poplar Grove oper-

ation in western Kentucky. A maiden

shipment of approximately 1,500 tons

was loaded into barges at Paringa’s

Ainsworth Dock on the Green River

to Louisville Gas & Electric Co. (LG&E)

and Kentucky Utilities (KU) on April 26.

Coal is sold by Paringa on a free-

on-board (FoB) basis, with the com-

pany’s customers responsible for the

transportation of coal. The loaded

product underwent sampling and

analysis at the Ainsworth Dock and

exceeded key contract specifications.

“Commencing sales from the

Poplar Grove operation is a key mile-

stone for the company in becoming a

significant coal producer in western

Kentucky, USA,” said Paringa Manag-

ing Director Egan Antill. “The compa-

ny remains focused on the successful

ramp up of operations toward name-

plate capacity throughout 2019.”

Sales volumes are anticipated

to increase in the coming weeks as

additional mining equipment is de-

ployed. The second continuous miner

has now been deployed. Additionally,

the slope conveyor has been suc-

cessfully commissioned and is trans-

porting run of mine (RoM) coal from

the slope bottom.

Coal quality exceeded contract

specifications, validating the coal

preparation handling plant ramp-up

performance, and sales volumes will

continue to increase in the coming

weeks as additional mining equip-

ment is deployed.

The company continues to build

on a strong forward sales book and

is sold out for 2019 and approximately

70% committed for 2020 with leading

regional power utilities. Market condi-

tions in the Illinois Basin remain strong,

and the company is actively engaged

with both existing and new customers

regarding further sales agreements.

Underground mining operations

continue to progress well, with the

slope development contractor demo-

bilized from the site. The slope con-

veyor was successfully installed and

commissioned during the week of

April 1, with RoM material now being

transported from the mine faces to

the transfer point at the slope portal.

The permanent ventilation system

has been established, and the second

continuous miner has now been de-

ployed. Installation and commissioning

of the slope conveyor has enabled the

underground and surface operations

to be integrated. RoM material is now

traveling up the slope conveyor to the

slope portal and on the overland con-

veyor, which then deposits it into the

raw coal stockpile. The ramp up of the

coal handling and preparation plant is

progressing in line with expectations,

with coal qualities to date having ex-

ceeded key contract specifications.

Queensland Approves Olive Downs Coking Coal ProjectPembroke Resources reported that its

Olive Downs coking coal project has

been approved by Queensland’s co-

ordinator general and is expected to

begin producing next year. Located 40

kilometers (km) southeast of Moran-

bah in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, a

well-established coking coal area with

existing infrastructure, the project is

backed by its major shareholder, Den-

ham Capital, a leading global energy

and resources private equity firm.

“This world-class project will have

a production life of almost 80 years,”

Chairman and CEO Barry Tudor said.

“There is no viable alternative to cok-

ing coal in the primary steel produc-

tion process for the foreseeable future,

and Olive Downs will be a major sup-

plier to the world’s leading steel pro-

ducers and as such, will be a valuable

contributor to the Queensland and

Australian economy for generations.”

Tudor also said Olive Downs will

bring employment and other oppor-

tunities to the state’s regional com-

munities. “Our focus is on workers

living locally, including in the lo-

cal economies of Moranbah, Nebo

and Dysart, and hiring locally from

The maiden shipment of coal from the Poplar Grove mine is loaded on to a barge at the Ainsworth Dock on the Green River in Kentucky.



leading developments continued

the surrounding towns of Central

Queensland,” he said. “There will be

no fly-in, fly-out rosters.”

The first stage of the project will

require capital expenditure of A$450

million and will produce 4.5 million

metric tons per year (mtpy) of met-

allurgical-grade coal, which will be

exported through the Dalrymple Bay

Coal Terminal.

Pembroke awarded an A$184

million contract for the design and

construction of a coal handling and

preparation plant at Olive Downs,

scheduled for commissioning in 2020.

Pembroke has also acquired sub-

stantial agricultural property holdings

in the area and will operate its pastoral

and mining ventures together. The mine

will be developed on predominantly

cleared land and will not impact strate-

gic cropping land, the company said.

Olive Downs has also entered into

an Indigenous Land Use Agreement

(ILUA) with the Barada Barna Aborig-

inal Corp., the traditional custodians

of the land. The ILUA will not only

provide a commercial benefits pack-

age for the life of the mine to the tra-

ditional owners, but also instigate an

employment program for members of

the Barada Barna community.

“We now need to receive a mining

lease before we can start construc-

tion, but we anticipate starting min-

ing in 2020 and shipping first coal

soon after,” Tudor said. “Today’s ap-

proval is not only a sign of confidence

in this project but also an acknowl-

edgement of Pembroke’s adherence

to the highest of standards through-

out the approvals process.”

Contura Energy Greenlights Lynn Branch ProjectsIn their first earnings call as co-CEOs

for Contura Energy, Andy Eidson and

Mark Manno, discussed results that

were positive, but did not meet ex-

pectations. During the quarter, the

company produced 6 million tons, a

2-million-ton increase over the same

period last year. More than half of that

increase was met coal selling at aver-

age price of $123.68/ton.

The company’s board of directors

approved the $25 million to $30 mil-

lion Lynn Branch metallurgical coal

project in Logan County, West Virgin-

ia, which is expected to reach full pro-

duction by the second quarter of 2020.

They announced they had encoun-

tered geological issues at Marfork and

they had resolved infrastructure-re-

lated issues at Mammoth Slabcamp.

Despite a longwall move, the Cumber-

land mine also posted good results.

“As we worked to integrate our ex-

panded asset portfolio over the past

quarter and a half, certain operational

challenges arose that negatively im-

pacted production efficiency, particu-

larly at [Marfork], while a temporary,

partial idling of one of our [Mammoth

Slabcamp] was required to bring mine

infrastructure up to Contura stan-

dards,” Manno said. “Both issues are

being addressed to better position

these assets for long-term success.”

Marfork encountered geology

that yielded less clean tons per foot

of advance. The decision was made

to relocate the sections to other areas

with better mining conditions. Manno

referred to it as a temporary issue that

will be remediated by the end of the

year. The issues at Mammoth Slab-

camp were resolved in mid-April and

the mine is back to full production.

“These factors, along with softer

than anticipated sales volumes due to

pricing dynamics, converged this past

quarter to result in performance that

trended below our expectations,” Eid-

son said. “While we anticipate costs to

revert to our previously forecast run

rate before year end, we are revising

our cost guidance slightly to better re-

flect updated full-year expectations.”

The Lynn Project is expected to

unlock a high-quality, 25-million-ton

high-vol met coal reserve. The project

is expected to produce approximately

1 million to 1.2 million tons annual-

ly at its full estimated run rate, with

a projected cash cost per ton in the

low $60 range. The capital investment

includes improvements to the Band

Mill prep plant to accommodate this

coal. Production is expected to com-

mence in the second quarter of 2020.

The company maintained its total

2019 coal shipments guidance of 24.6

million to 26.7 million tons. Met coal

guidance remained at 12.2 million to

12.8 million tons, with the T&L segment

remaining at 1 million to 1.5 million tons.

NAPP shipments are expected to remain

between 6.8 million and 7.2 million tons

in 2019. Thermal shipments are un-

changed at 4.6 million to 5.2 million tons.

Despite some issues with Marfork, Contura maintains its 2019 production guidance.



u.s. news

CONSOL Energy Starts Development of

Itmann Mine

CONSOL Energy Inc. has commenced

the development of a new low-vol met-

allurgical coal mining operation in Wy-

oming County, West Virginia, with an

anticipated completion date of 2021.

The Itmann mine, the company’s first

major growth initiative, will produce

600,000 tons at its full run rate.

“Since becoming an indepen-

dent publicly traded company, we

have meaningfully deleveraged our

balance sheet and improved our li-

quidity through strong operational

performance and completion of our

first-quarter 2019 refinancing,” CEO

Jimmy Brock said. “We also continue

to return capital to our shareholders

through our expanded repurchase

program announced. The Itmann

mine begins the next phase of our

evolution, as we are now focusing on

strategic and controlled growth as

an additional avenue to increase our

per-share value.”

Brock added that the new mine

will align with the company’s current

asset base. “It will further diversify

our already robust portfolio by add-

ing a new metallurgical coal product

stream to the mix,” he said.

When combined with metallur-

gical product from the Pennsylvania

Mining Complex, it will allow the com-

pany to consistently produce 2.5 mil-

lion-plus tons of metallurgical quality

coal annually, once the Itmann mine

and preparation plant are constructed

and fully functioning in 2021.

“We are also excited about the tim-

ing of the Itmann project, as coking coal

prices remain attractive,” Brock said.

“While other new metallurgical coal

supply is expected to emerge in the U.S.

in the coming years, we believe that

most of this new supply will be focused

on high-vol metallurgical products.”

He added, “Our initial market out-

reach has indicated a strong interest

level among domestic and internation-

al customers in the Itmann product.”

The Itmann project has an antici-

pated mine life of 25-plus years. Con-

struction of the mine is expected to

begin in late 2019 or early 2020, pend-

ing successful permitting and project

development efforts, which are ongo-

ing and progressing as planned.

Total capital expenditures will be

$65 million-$80 million over the next

two years to develop the mine and

preparation plant.

Lawsuit Against Justice Coal Companies Seeks Nearly $5MA civil lawsuit has been filed against

23 coal companies owned by West Vir-

ginia Gov. Jim Justice and operating

in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee,

Alabama and Kentucky, which seeks

more than $4.7 million in unpaid

penalties for violations of the Federal

Mine Safety and Health Act.

The civil action, filed by United

States Attorney Thomas Cullen in the

Western District of Virginia on behalf

of the Mine Safety and Health Admin-

istration (MSHA), claimed that the

companies failed to pay penalties or

notify MSHA it contested the penalties

on at least 2,297 citations that were is-

sued to the mine operators between

May 3, 2014, and May 3, 2019. Cullen

said it was “unacceptable” and they

“will hold them accountable.”

“MSHA plays a critical role in pro-

tecting our coal miners and ensuring

that mine owners and operators fulfill

their legal obligations to provide safe

and healthy working conditions,” U.S.

Attorney Cullen said. “As alleged in

the complaint, the defendants racked

up more than 2,000 safety violations

over a five-year period and have, to

date, refused to comply with their

legal obligations to pay the resulting

financial penalties.”

Assistant Secretary of Labor for

MSHA David Zatezalo said mine op-

erators should be held responsible

for what they owe. “In the Mine Act,

Congress was extremely clear on en-

forcement matters: federal inspectors

issue citations for safety and health

violations, which carry a monetary

fine,” he said. “Failure to pay penal-

ties is unfair to miners who deserve

safe workplaces, and to mine opera-

tors who play by the rules.”

According to Cullen, when the de-

fendants failed to pay the civil penal-

ties for 100 days, despite two demand

letters, MSHA referred the civil penal-

ties to the Department of Treasury for

collection. Another written demand

was issued from the Department of

Treasury, but the companies still did

not pay. On September 5, 2018, the

United States Attorney’s Office for

the Western District of Virginia made

a written demand on the defendants

With a 25-year life, the Itmann mine is expected to produce 2.5 million tpy of met coal.



u.s. news continued

for the delinquent debts. The defen-

dants still failed to pay the outstand-

ing debts, Cullen added.

In the complaint, the United

States is seeking judgment against

the 23 defendants for $3,954,984.37,

the total principal amount of unpaid

civil penalties owed. An additional

$821,386.03 in administrative costs

and interest is being sought.

The 23 defendants are: Southern

Coal Corp.; Justice Coal of Alabama;

A&G Coal Corp.; Black River Coal;

Chestnut Land Holdings; Double Bo-

nus Coal Co.; Dynamic Energy; Four

Star Resources; Frontier Coal Co.; In-

finity Energy; Justice Energy Co.; Justice

Highwall Mining; Kentucky Fuel Corp.;

Keystone Service Industries; M&P Ser-

vices; Nine Mile Mining; Nufac Mining

Co.; Pay Car Mining; Premium Coal Co.;

S and H Mining; Sequoia Energy; Tams

Management; and Virginia Fuel Corp.

According to court documents,

each of the defendant companies op-

erated at least one mine with delin-

quent, uncontested MSHA penalties.

CCTC Signs $1M Agreement With University of WyomingClean Coal Technologies Inc. (CCTC),

a leading clean-energy company uti-

lizing patented and proven technology

(Pristine) to convert run of mine coal

into a cleaner-burning and more effi-

cient stabilized solid fuel, announced

an award agreement of up to $1 mil-

lion at University of Wyoming (UW)

School of Energy Resources (SER) as

part of the next-stage technology de-

velopment. Earlier this year, universi-

ty researchers successfully and inde-

pendently verified the performance of

CCTI’s Pristine M technology, the com-

pany said. The outcome identified per-

formance improvement areas, which

are being designed and incorporated

into the next-stage field-testing pro-

gram scheduled to start in Wyoming.

“We are very pleased to announce

that after independently validating our

Pristine M coal ‘refining’ technology

performance, the University of Wyo-

ming has agreed to provide a matching

grant of up to $1 million with the first

agreement of $500,000 being made

available in May for the next stage of

our proprietary coal-beneficiation

(Pristine) technology development,”

CCTI CEO Robin Eves said. “These

funds have been earmarked specifically

for our second-generation test facility

to be located in Gillette, Wyoming.”

This partnership with the univer-

sity and the state of Wyoming ensures

the test facility will be ready to com-

mence testing of coal and help the

top 10 coal-producing states and regions

weekly spot prices

(Thousands of Short Tons) Week Ending (4/27/19)

YTD ‘19 YTD ‘18 % Change

Wyoming 86,707 96,252 -9.9

West Virginia 30,082 30,702 -2.0

Pennsylvania 15,312 15,905 -3.7

Illinois 14,955 16,155 -7.4

Kentucky 11,751 13,136 -10.5

Montana 11,691 11,703 -0.1

Indiana 10,936 11,052 -1.0

North Dakota 9,101 9,539 -4.6

Texas 6,653 7,954 -16.4

Alabama 4,801 4,930 -2.6

Appalachian Total 61,966 65,014 -4.7

Interior Total 40,799 44,068 -7.4

Western Total 120,254 131,231 -8.4

U.S. Total 223,019 240,313 -7.2

($/ton) Week Ending (5/17/19)

Central Appalachia (12,500 Btu, 1.2 SO2) $76.45

Northern Appalachia (13,000 Btu, < 3.0 SO2) $61.35

Illinois Basin (11,800 Btu, 5.0 SO2) $40.20

Powder River Basin (8,800 Btu, 0.8 SO2) $12.40

Uinta Basin (11,700 Btu, 0.8 SO2) $36.50

Source: Energy Information Administration

monthly stats from coal country

U.S. News Continued on Page 10



worldwide news

South Africa Awaits Coal Asset Sale

By Gavin du Venage, South African Editor

CAPE TOWN, South Africa—The sale

of the South African coal assets of

Australia-listed South32 is nearing

completion, with final bids expected

in June. This will be one of the largest

coal transactions in the country to

date. South32 was established in 2015

when it was spun out of Australian

mining conglomerate BHP into a sep-

arate listed entity, mostly consisting

of BHP’s South African assets.

The sale of South32’s coal divi-

sion has been in the works since 2017,

when CEO Graham Kerr announced

the company had started a “process to

broaden and transform the ownership

of South Africa Energy Coal (SAEC).”

SAEC includes four coal min-

ing operations east of Johannesburg

in Mpumalanga province; Khuta-

la, Klipspruit, Middelburg and the

Wolvekrans collieries. It also owns

three processing plants, producing

energy coal for the domestic and ex-

port market.

The Khutala Colliery is an under-

ground room-and-pillar operation

while the Klipspruit, Middelburg and

Wolvekrans collieries are open-cast

mines using dragline, as well as truck

and shovel operations.

SAEC can produce up to 30 million

metric tons per year (mtpy) of thermal

coal, or 10% of South Africa’s total out-

put. About 8 million mt are sold do-

mestically and 12 million mt export-

ed. Its principle domestic customer is

Eskom, the country’s energy utility.

The sale is part of South32’s drive

to clean up its portfolio of grab-bag

assets it inherited from BHP. BMO an-

alyst Edward Sterck said in a note in

April that SAEC’s cost structure left it

more vulnerable to cost fluctuations

than rival producers such as Anglo

American, Glencore and Vale.

“Of this group, we estimate that

South32 is the most sensitive to lower

prices (-2% to FY2019 EBITDA at spot,

-9% to FY2020), followed by Glencore

(-3% to 2019, -4% 2020), and Anglo

American (-3% to 2019, -4% 2019),”

Sterck said.

Last year, disruptions in coal pro-

duction weighed on South32’s earn-

ings. The company reported a tough

first quarter of 2018 at its coal assets,

as volume dropped 13% from the

previous quarter and, notably, export

sales declined 40%. This was impact-

ed by an incident that caused dam-

age to the dragline at Klipspruit and

reduced export coal production by 2

million mt, the company said.

South32’s South Africa Energy Coal division produces 30 million mtpy of energy coal or about 10% of South Africa’s total output.



worldwide news continued

Then in April, the company low-

ered its guidance for production at

its South African units. South32 said

in a regulatory filing in Sydney it had

reduced output of energy coal by 11%

for the coming financial year. Com-

munity protests that disrupted oper-

ations, and a delay in introducing a

new worker shift pattern had ham-

pered production. Export guidance

was cut by 7%, South32 said.

SAEC’s revenue for the first half of

2019 has also declined to $517 million,

down from $622 million for the same

period last year. Production, mean-

while, is expected to rise to 29 million

mt this year and to 30 million mt in

2020. Production came to only 27 mil-

lion t in 2018. Production costs will

also rise however, to $38/mt in the first

half of this fiscal year, from $36/mt in

the previous financial year.

A sale of SAEC would leave

South32 to focus on its higher margin

assets, such as its alumina and man-

ganese operations in Australia, and as

one of the world’s largest ferronickel

producers in Colombia.

SAEC’s disposal will be the largest

mining transaction South Africa has

seen for some time. As such, it has

drawn considerable interest with up

to 50 companies reportedly showing

an interest in acquiring SAEC. A figure

of around $540 million was floated for

the assets when SAEC was first put up

for sale in late 2017.

The final price is likely to be lower

however, as the coal price has tum-

bled around 20% since the sale was

first announced. Current free-on-

board coal price at the Richards Bay

Coal Terminal (RBCT) are $78/mt.

Whoever wins the bidding process

must be anchored by a black-owned

company to meet the government’s

long-term requirements to create

more black businesses. The winner

must also have the financial resources

to take on further mine development,

and to cover the nearly $700 million

in site rehabilitation charges as older

operations are closed.

The final contenders have been

whittled down to a handful, accord-

ing to local reports with local com-

panies Exxaro, Wescoal and Seriti

among those expected to be leading

the pack for SAEC. Each claim to be

black-owned and have the solid bal-

ance sheets to fund an acquisition of

this size.

Earlier this year, Exxaro CEO Mx-

olisi Mgojo said he was indeed look-

ing at the SAEC assets.

“We have expressed interest at

this very early round in the South32

assets,” he told Reuters in Johannes-

burg. “Our primary objective is to

get further exposure on the export

side and the South32 assets also

come with Richard Bay Coal Termi-

nal entitlements.”

Export entitlements are an im-

portant factor for local coal produc-

ers, as they essentially serve as quo-

tas for users of the RBCT. As such,

they are a limiting factor on offshore

sales. Domestic sales, meanwhile,

are almost exclusively to Eskom, and

priced at a cost-plus basis. Eskom

pays the cost of production with a

small percentage added on for reve-

nue. Exports, however, are priced ac-

cording to international benchmarks

providing a greater potential upside.

Local producers must also con-

tend with Eskom’s schizophrenic

buying policies. The utility is in a fi-

nancial crisis that has interfered with

coal purchases. Even though global

demand is currently slack, export en-

titlements help offset the risk of being

tied to a single domestic customer.

Besides, Eskom, like utilities around

the world, is under pressure to close

coal plants in favor of renewables.

Queensland Accepts Yancoal’s Cameby Downs Mine ExpansionThe Queensland Government has

approved Yancoal Australia’s pro-

posed expansion of the Cameby

Downs thermal coal mine in South-

east Queensland, Australia, to in-

crease production.

Earlier, the mine operation was

approved to extract up to 2.8 million

metric tons per year (mtpy) of run-of-

mine coal annually over a 45-year pe-

riod. The new approved mining leases

will increase the production capacity

of the mine to 3.5 million mtpy over a

75-year period.

Yancoal Australia, which manages

the mine, expects the expansion proj-

ect to create up to 20 extra jobs, and

extend mine life. The mine produces

low-ash export thermal coal.

Located in the Surat Basin, ap-

proximately 360 kilometers north-

west of Brisbane, the Cameby Downs

comprises an open-cut thermal coal

mine, coal handling and preparation

plant and related infrastructure. The

mine is operated by Syntech Resourc-

es, a subsidiary of Yancoal Australia

shareholder Yanzhou Coal Mining

Co. Commenced production in 2010,

the mine is connected by rail to the

port of Brisbane with port allocation

through the Queensland Bulk Han-

dling facility in Brisbane.

SCCL Expedites Coal Mining Projects to Meet Fuel Needs To meet the demands of new pow-

er plants, state-owned SCCL has

expedited the development of cer-

tain coal mining projects, including

Kalyani Khani-6 Incline block, and

invited expression of interest for

carrying out pre-mining activities.

Kalyani Khani-6 Incline in Telanga-

na, which has extractable reserves

of 15.65 million metric tons (mt), is

a new underground coal mining pro-

ject and carved out of Mandamarri

shaft block in Mancherial district of

Telangana.

The Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd.

(SCCL) said, “SCCL invites expression

of interest for carrying out pre-min-

ing activities, development and ex-

traction of coal seams by introducing

3 nos continuous miner technology

equipment in a phased manner by

Worldwide News Continued on Page 14



u.s. news continued

company move to commercialization

in an expedited manner, Eves said.

The second-generation plant

will include process and engineer-

ing enhancements that the univer-

sity’s simulated modeling study and

experimental program advocated.

“We fully expect it will further in-

crease the plant’s performance and

efficiency and will reduce the overall

cost of a commercial unit,” Eves said.

“Furthermore, the university’s work

has informed and quantified the po-

tential of manufacturing valuable

byproducts as a consequence of the

coal-beneficiation process.”

The University of Wyoming

School of Energy Resources is rec-

ognized as a leading research insti-

tution in energy technology, partic-

ularly in the development of coal

beneficiation and efforts to use the

fuel more efficiently and to identify

potentially profitable byproducts.

“We are delighted to be asso-

ciated with this first of a kind and

industry-leading technology,” said

Richard Horner, director, School of

Energy Resources. “We have validat-

ed that their technology does what it

says on the packet and are honored

that CCTI has placed its trust in our

researchers to support the important

next stage in bringing Pristine tech-

nology to market.”

CCTI said its clean coal technolo-

gy may reduce some 90% of chemical

pollutants from coal, including sul-

fur and mercury, thereby resolving

emissions issues affecting coal-fired

power plants.

Judge Rules in Favor of Environmental Groups Over Coal MoratoriumOn April 19, a federal judge ruled that

the Department of the Interior (DOI)

acted unlawfully when it revoked a

moratorium on new coal mining leas-

es on public lands. In 2017, President

Donald Trump had ordered then-DOI

Secretary Ryan Zinke to withdraw

the moratorium put in place in 2016

by then-DOI Secretary Sally Jewell in

2016 under former President Barack

Obama’s administration. The morato-

rium was to be effective until the Bu-

reau of Land Management prepared a

Programmatic Environmental Impact

Statement (PEIS).

Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. Dis-

trict Court of the District of Montana

said the plaintiffs in the case demon-

strated “they possess standing to

challenge the Zinke order” and that it

constituted a major federal action that

would have triggered a National Envi-

ronmental Policy Act (NEPA) review.

The defendants argued a NEPA

review wasn’t necessary (See Legally

Speaking, p. 40) because no major fed-

eral action occurred or final agency ac-

tion. It was “merely an agency policy.”

The judge continued that the Zin-

ke order meets requirements for final

agency action under the Administra-

tive Procedure Act (APA).

Although the judge ruled in favor

of the plaintiffs, which included nu-

merous environmental groups and

the states of California, Washington

and New Mexico, it did not revoke the

lift. He directed both parties to come

together and reach an agreement.

“The court directs the parties to

submit a joint proposal no later than

30 days from today’s date if the parties

reach an agreement regarding reme-

dies,” the judge said in his statement.

If an agreement can’t be made,

the court directed both parties to

prepare additional briefing and pro-

posed remedies to address the cur-

rent status of coal leasing, including

the leases cited by plaintiffs in their

complaint that had been affected by

the moratorium. This would need to

be submitted in 60 days or less.

The judge’s decision will follow.

National Mining Associtaion Pres-

ident Hal Quinn said the decision was

“irreconcilable with a recent, unan-

imous decision” by the D.C. Circuit

Court, which dismissed claims that

the DOI had an obligation to update

its prior environmental impact state-

ment for federal coal leasing.

“Following the court’s reasoning,

the real action violating NEPA was for-

mer Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell’s

order halting federal coal leasing with

the Interior Department leaping first

and promising to look later at the con-

sequences of such an unprecedented

action,” Quinn said. “Secretary Zinke’s

directive, on the other hand, simply

ceased a voluntary and wholly un-

necessary review and resumed the

faithful implementation of the Feder-

al Coal Leasing Act under which deci-

sions to lease coal are already subject

to multiple NEPA reviews before leas-

ing and before mining commences.”

DEQ Issues Permit for Rosebud Mine ExpansionThe Montana Department of Envi-

ronmental Quality (DEQ) has par-

tially approved the proposed expan-

sion of the Rosebud mine, while also

partially disapproving acreage where

mining could potentially damage

groundwater. The mine, located in

the northern Power River Basin and

12 miles west of Colstrip, is owned by

Western Energy Co., a subsidiary of

Westmoreland Coal Co.

DEQ formally issued a surface min-

ing permit for the expansion, which

would add 6,746 permitted acres to the

existing coal mine. Known as Area F, the

expansion would yield approximately

70.8 million tons of recoverable coal

and extend the operational life of the

mine by about eight years. This means

the mine could operate until 2038.

Westmoreland Coal, which

emerged from bankruptcy in mid-

March, posted a reclamation bond of

$13.75 million, which covers the first

five years of mine development.

The area of disturbance would be

approximately 4,260 acres, of which

2,159 acres would be mined. The re-

mainder would be disturbed by high-

wall reduction, soil storage, scoria

U.S. News Continued from Page 7



u.s. news continued

Ramaco Resources appointed Jeremy Sussman as CFO. Randall

Atkins, executive chairman who has also been serving as the CFO since July 1, 2018, will step down as CFO, effective upon Sussman’s appointment. Atkins will continue to serve as the executive chair-man. Most recently, Sussman served as managing director of min-ing and metals at Clarksons Platou Securities.

Randall Atkins, chairman and CEO of Ramaco

Carbon, has been elected vice chairman for the remainder of this year and chair-elect for 2020 of the National Coal Council (NCC) in Washington D.C. Atkins was originally appointed to the NCC by U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in 2017.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and

Health (NIOSH) researcher Emily Haas, Ph.D., has been a finalist for the 2019 Samuel J. Hey-man Service to America Medals (Sammies) in the Safety and Law Enforcement category. Dr. Haas is an internationally recognized behavior-al scientist in the NIOSH Mining Program whose

research and leadership have directly contributed to preventing occupational illness and injury in the mining industry. Haas, an employee in the Human Factors Branch of NIOSH’s Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, studies organizational culture and risk management in areas specific to leadership in order to uncover ways to strengthen safety culture in mining workplaces.

The Austin Powder Co. presented Technical Manager John Capers with the Lifetime Achieve-ment Award from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Mineral Resources Management. During his 42-year career at Aus-tin Powder, he has been responsible for training more than 1,100 new blasters globally.

Dyno Nobel appointed Mike Rispin as vice pres-ident of underground. He has 32 years of experi-ence and began his career in the explosives in-dustry and held leadership positions with DuPont of Canada, ETI and The Austin Powder Co.

At the May 20 Tug Valley Mining Institute (TVMI) dinner meeting, six 2019 scholarship recipients were awarded. The $8,000 David B. Akers Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Payton Fitchpatrick, Tug Valley High; the $8,000 Raymond J. Scites Honorary Scholarship Award was awarded to Ashley Harrison, Bel-fry High. Four $1,000 scholarships were awarded to Jarrett Bra-

nham, Pike Central; Seth Jude, Mingo Central; Jon T. Mills, Belfry High; and Logan Varney, Pike Central.

The guest speaker was Jeff Wilson, White Forest Resources CEO. Wilson encouraged the students to have no fear and embrace each path with enthusiasm. Rish Equipment sponsored the meet-ing and has been a longtime supporter of the scholarship program.

Over the last 23 years, TVMI has awarded 136 students $333,250 in scholarship money. The TVMI scholarship is open to students from Mingo, Logan, Wayne, Pike, and Martin counties. The applications are available in November and may be obtained from Marsha Williams at the First National Bank of Williamson or from a TVMI board member.

p e o p l e i n t h e n e w s

pits, haul road construction and oth-

er mine-related activities.

In addition, DEQ conducted a Cu-

mulative Hydrologic Impact Assess-

ment, which identified the possibility

that mining near the northwestern

border of the project could impact

groundwater outside the proposed

permit boundary. Because of the

potential risk to groundwater, DEQ

partially disapproved permitting of

74 acres (2.2 million tons of coal re-

serves) of the proposed expansion.

The DEQ said if the mine oper-

ator demonstrates, through addi-

tional studies, that mining could be

accomplished without damaging the

groundwater, it could potentially per-

mit future coal mining in the area.

Almost of all Rosebud’s current

production goes to the Colstrip Power

Station. It is currently under two long-

term contracts with the plant.

IP&L Signs New Coal Supply ContractThe cold winter of 2018-2019 prompt-

ed Indianapolis Power & Light Co. to

enter into a new coal supply contract.

The Indiana Office of Utility Consum-

er Counselor (OUCC) said in a regu-

latory filing that the AES Corp. sub-

sidiary currently is buying steam coal

from up to eight mines owned by four

Indiana suppliers, Peabody Energy,

Sunrise Coal, Alliance Resource Part-

ners. He did not release details of the

new contract and IP&L officials could

not be reached for comment.

It appears the decision to purchase

additional coal for the winter may have

been one of necessity. This past winter

was one of the coldest in the Indianap-

olis area of central Indiana in the past

two decades. In all, the Indianapolis

area experienced 23 days in November

below normal temperatures. Decem-

ber and January were not much better.

Pictured from left to right: Ray Scites, TVMI treasurer; Jeff Wilson, White Forest

Resources; Seth Jude; Payton Fitchpatrick; Bud Baldwin, TVMI president; Ashley

Harrison; Jarrett Branham; Logan Varney. (Not pictured was Jon T. Mills.)

Randall Atkins

Emily Haas

Mike Rispin

John Capers



u.s. news continued

d a t e l i n e w a s h i n g t o n

Mandating Higher

Electricity Pricesby conor bernstein

It has long been suspect-ed that renewable port-folio standards are an incredibly costly and inef-ficient energy policy. Yet, they have grown in pop-ularity and ambition with 29 states and the District

of Columbia employing these mandates and policymakers from time to time flirting with a national standard. Suspicion has now been replaced by data. A new, comprehensive study from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute confirms it: renewable portfo-lio standards are driving up electricity prices.

The authors of the study found that these standards, which mandate a growing share of electricity come from renewable sources of power, usually wind and solar, increase power costs through expanded spending on backup generation, transmis-sion infrastructure and through stranded assets. It’s an important point. While the direct costs of building new wind and solar generation are high (and let’s not forget the subsidies), it’s the hidden costs — the need for backup, the need for new transmission, the loss of well-operating, existing plants — that make these policies so costly.

Just how costly? “All in all, seven years after passage, consumers in the 29 states had paid $125.2 billion more for electricity than they would have in the absence of the policy,” the authors observed.

The authors and their research can’t, and shouldn’t be, easily dismissed. They’re top economists and the lead author, Michael Greenstone, is a former senior economic ad-visor to former President Barrack Obama.

Greenstone observed, “The headline re-sult here and the most important result in the whole exercise: signing up for these policies increases electricity prices, full stop. Second point: what do you get in exchange for that?”

The question he poses is a fundamental and essential one. What exactly are consumers paying so much more for? These mandates have done wonders to fill the coffers of wind and solar developers, and utilities, too, have joined in to capture hefty returns for investors, but is this an effective or replicable emissions reductions strategy? Hardly.

While critics of the study pointed out that the costs of wind and solar power have fallen over time and insisted this study doesn’t ade-quately account for those trends, there’s ample evidence to show that forcing more and more intermittent sources of power onto the grid significantly drives up the cost of electricity. The cost of a wind turbine or solar array may be falling, but the system costs of integrating more and more of these weather-dependent sources of power are going up. The existing grid would have to be scrapped and rebuilt to manage our growing reliance on wind and solar power. It’s a breathtakingly expensive un-dertaking and one that seems to be a solution in search of a problem.

There is a very good reason why coal remains the world’s leading fuel for elec-tricity generation. Hundreds of new coal plants are planned or under construction around the globe, particularly in Asia.

Instead of raising electricity costs here through mandates and placing an undue burden on consumers while weakening the global competitiveness of our economy, we should be leaning into innovation and the de-ployment of the technologies that can reduce emissions from the fuels and power sources the world uses and will continue to use. The renewable portfolio standard has become the de-facto U.S. emissions-mitigation strategy. It’s one expensive road to nowhere.

Conor Bernstein is a spokesperson for the

National Mining Association, the industry’s

trade group based in Washington, D.C.

According to the OUCC, the state’s

consumer watchdog, IP&L’s load was

6.4% higher than forecast in Novem-

ber and Henry Hub natural gas prices

were 36% higher than forecast. Power

prices were 26% higher than forecast

in November.

Coal under the new contract is

being delivered to the utility’s 1,700-

megawatt Petersburg plant near Pe-

tersburg in Pike County, Indiana. Pe-

tersburg is IP&L’s only coal plant. The

plant burns about 4 million tons of coal

annually. All of the coal comes from In-

diana and Petersburg’s boilers are de-

signed to burn Indiana coal.

Despite the new coal contract,

the OUCC said IP&L’s coal inventory

currently is within target levels of 25

to 50 days.

The OUCC spoke with the utility

about the issue of coal freezing in rail

cars on its way to Petersburg or after

it gets there. However, it is not really

a serious problem for the utility be-

cause the coal does not stay in the cars

very long after it reaches the plant.

In a recent filing, IP&L said it pre-

fers to sign coal contracts that give

the utility more flexibility to buy more

coal when needed and less when it is

not needed. “As a public utility, IP&L

has an obligation to make every rea-

sonable effort to acquire fuel and gen-

erate or purchase power, or both, so

as to provide electricity to its 450,000

retail customers at the lowest fuel cost

reasonably possible,” the utility said.

Report Recommends Retirement of 3 of 4 CWLP Coal UnitsAn energy consultant is recommend-

ing the city of Springfield, Illinois,

retire three of the four coal-burning

generating units at its 572-megawatt

(MW) Dallman plant over the next

few years, although that appears un-

likely to happen.

The Energy Authority report re-

leased in May also said the city’s larg-

est and newest coal unit, 209-MW

Dallman 4, should not be retired as

quickly. Dallman 4 was built in 2009,



u.s. news continued

making it one of the newest coal

plants in the United States.

Whether any of its recommenda-

tions will be approved anytime soon or

ever rests in part on the response of city

residents to the report, according to

Amber Sabin, spokesman for Spring-

field City, Water Light and Power.

The muni planned to hold a May

20 open house to receive public com-

ments and review the report. A final

recommendation is expected before

the end of this year.

TEA recommends the retirement of

Dallman Units 1 and 2, built in the late

1960s and early 1970s and rated at 61

MW apiece, and 172-MW Unit 3, built

in 1978, as possibly as early as 2020.

Sabin said while that might be a

possibility for the two smaller, older

units, it is unlikely to be the case for

Unit 3, still a major contributor to the

city’s generation.

According to the report, Units 1

and 2 account for about 19% of Dall-

man’s overall power and are not need-

ed for capacity.

“Transmission upgrades would be

needed,” she said, adding some of Unit

3’s facilities are shared with Unit 4.

“We know we would need more

time to retire Unit 3” because there also

are Midcontinent-dependent System

Operator (MISO) technical require-

ments to address with closing Unit 3,

she said. MISO is a regional grid oper-

ator based in Carmel, Indiana.

TEA said it would cost the city

about $210 million to maintain Unit 3

over the next 20 years.

CWLP buys about 1.2 million tons

of steam coal from Arch Coal Inc.’s Vi-

per underground mine about 20 miles

away in Sangamon County at a price

of $35.90/g. The existing deal, signed

two years ago, runs through 2020.

Xcel Energy Will End Coal Use in Upper MidwestXcel Energy announced plans to retire

its last two coal plants in the Upper Mid-

west a decade earlier than scheduled.

The acceleration of the coal closures

is another milestone in the company’s

clean energy transition that includes

expanding wind and solar, using clean-

er natural gas and operating its car-

bon-free Monticello nuclear plant until

at least 2040, the company said.

The plan outlines a path to make

the transition while ensuring reliabil-

ity and keeping costs low for custom-

ers. As part of this plan, the compa-

ny has reached an agreement with a

coalition of environmental and labor

organizations on key elements of the

plan relating to its coal, solar and nat-

ural gas plans.

These plans are part of the proposed

Upper Midwest Energy Plan, which the

company will submit for approval to the

Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

in July. If approved, the plan would lead

to a more than 80% reduction in carbon

emissions in the region by 2030, com-

pared to 2005, a key stepping stone to-

ward the company achieving its vision

to provide customers 100% carbon-free

electricity by 2050.

“This is a significant step forward

as we are on track to reduce carbon

emissions more than 80% by 2030 and

transform the way we deliver energy

to our customers,” said Chris Clark,

president, Xcel Energy – Minnesota,

North Dakota, South Dakota. “Accel-

erating the closure of our coal plants

and leading this clean energy transition

would not be possible

without the dedication

and support of our key

stakeholders. We thank

them for their work to

put us on a path to de-

liver 100% carbon-free

electricity by 2050.”

Cloud Peak Energy Files for Chapter 11Cloud Peak Energy

announced on May 10

it filed voluntary peti-

tions under Chapter

11 in the U.S. Bank-

ruptcy Court for the

District of Delaware.

The company intends to continue a

marketing process for all of its assets

and expects its mines to continue op-

erating throughout the process.

“Over the past several months,

Cloud Peak Energy has thoroughly

evaluated strategic alternatives to

address the challenging market con-

ditions in our industry,” said Colin

Marshall, president and CEO of Cloud

Peak Energy. “We believe, at this time,

that a sale process in Chapter 11 will

provide the best opportunity to maxi-

mize value for Cloud Peak Energy.”

In conjunction with the filing, and

subject to court approval, Cloud Peak

Energy has received a commitment

for approximately $35 million in debt-

or-in-possession (DIP) financing from

some of the company’s prepetition se-

cured noteholders. It said it expects $10

million of the total DIP financing to be

available on an interim basis. The DIP

financing, combined with the compa-

ny’s cash on hand and funds generated

from ongoing operations, are expected

to provide sufficient liquidity to contin-

ue operating during the sale process.

Headquartered in Wyoming, Cloud

Peak Energy operates the Antelope

and Cordero Rojo mines, located in

Wyoming, and the Spring Creek mine,

which is located in Montana. In 2018,

Cloud Peak Energy sold approximately

50 million tons.

Recovering from a spoil failure last year and other adverse mining conditions, Cloud Peak Energy is considering its options.




outsourcing model in KK6 Incline,

Mandamarri area.”

The PSU said after bifurcation of

Andhra Pradesh state, Telangana has

become a power deficit state, accord-

ing to the Hindui Business Line. To

overcome the power deficit, Telanga-

na government has embarked on an

action plan for capacity addition of

around 6,000 megawatts (MW).

SCCL is also constructing a pow-

er plant of 1,800-MW capacity in the

Srirampur area in Telangana. Further,

NTPC also has the mandate as per the

Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act

to set up a 4,000-MW power plant in

Telangana.

SCCL said, “With the addition

of new power plants, there will be

an additional demand of SCCL to

the extent of 40 mt of coal over and

above the existing supplies. There-

fore, SCCL, being a state-owned

public-sector company, has the re-

sponsibility to cater to the needs of

the new power plants coming up

in the state. Considering the likely

expansion of existing power proj-

ects and construction of new power

units, the production and demand

gap will further increase.”

Peabody Advances Re-ventilation of North GoonyellaPeabody Energy said it is proceeding

with the ventilation of the first seg-

ment of the North Goonyella Mine

in consultation with the Queensland

Mine Inspectorate as part of a com-

prehensive phased re-ventilation and

re-entry plan. Longwall production is

expected to begin in 2020.

“This marks an important first

step in the next phase of activities

aimed at resuming normal opera-

tions at North Goonyella,” said Glenn

Kellow, Peabody president and CEO.

“As we move forward in the process,

we appreciate the ongoing support of

our many stakeholders including our

employees, the union, customers, the

inspectorate, neighboring mines, the

community of Moranbah and count-

less others.”

Last month, Peabody released a

report that said ventilation played a

role in the mine fire. During a long-

wall move, a change in gas manage-

ment to reduce elevated methane

levels in the No. 9 North panel, in-

cluding changes to the mine’s ven-

tilation system to increase airflow,

inadvertently intensified the oxida-

tion of coal that was likely causing

elevated carbon monoxide levels.

Despite sustained efforts to manage

the oxidation from the mine surface,

including use of nitrogen to create

an inert environment within the No.

9 North panel goaf (gob), the oxida-

tion accelerated into a spontaneous

combustion event that eventually re-

sulted in the fire.

Vedanta Chotia Coal Block Output Will Reach 1M MTPY Coal output from Vedanta Ltd.’s mine

located in Chhattisgarh will increase

to 1 million metric tons per year

(mtpy) as it looks to secure 90% of its

requirement from linkage and captive

block. Bharat Aluminum, part of Anil

Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd., had bagged

Chotia block during the first phase of

coal mine auctions held in 2015. Ve-

danta said in an investor presentation

that “Captive coal from Chotia block

to be ramped up to 1 million mtpy in

near term. It said that the output from

the captive mine stood at 0.45 million

mt in the fourth quarter of last fiscal.”

Stating that 72% of coal require-

ment by the company was secured

from linkage and captive block, Ve-

danta Ltd. said it was targeting “to se-

cure 90% of requirement.” The mine

has a capacity of 1 million mtpy.

Known for its high-quality coal

reserves, Balco had bid a price of INR

3,025 per mt during the auctions.

Mentioning there was a structural re-

duction in aluminum cost, the com-

pany said it achieved alumina peak

run rate of 1.8 million mtpy during

the 2019 fiscal year. The increased

local bauxite supply met 30% of the

company’s requirement.

Coal India Targets 8% Production Growth for 2019 Setting a production target of 655

million tons during 2019-20, up 8%

over the corresponding previous year.

State-run miner, Coal India Ltd. (CIL)

has assured thermal power compa-

nies a 8.6% increase in dry fuel sup-

plies during the current year.

India’s Coal Ministry has fixed the

production target for the current year

based on production growth recorded

by the miner over the past few years

and anticipating that CIL would be

able to sustain the growth rates of the

past fiscal during which it notched a

growth of 7.23% producing 607 mil-

lion tons.

CIL was confident it would sus-

tain higher production growth since

it had been able to ramp up the rate

from a low of 2.33% during 2016-2017

to levels of 7% in following fiscals,

CIL officials said. It pointed out that

during March, the miner produced

79.19 million tons, the highest ever

production in a single month. The

goal would be to sustain such levels

through greater deployment of mech-

anization and efficient production

planning at all its operationally whol-

ly-owned subsidiaries.

Riding on projected optimizing of

production, CIL has assured thermal

power companies of higher supplies

of 530 million ton of dry fuel during

2019-2020, 8.6% higher than total dis-

patch to power plants during the pre-

vious fiscal year.

Officials said higher dispatch to

thermal power producers was based

on electricity generation targets and

average plant load factors (PLFs) of

power-producing companies.

With promises of higher volume

supplies, CIL has started meeting

each domestic thermal power com-

panies seeking that it reduce inward

Worldwide News Continued from Page 9




shipments of thermal coal in the cur-

rent year.

“In order to reduce imports and as

advised by the Ministry of Coal, CIL

will hold one-to-one meetings with

coal consumers for import substitu-

tion in 2019-2020,” a communication

from the miner said.

Imports of thermal coal by power

companies were up 13.5% at 164.21

million tons during 2018-2019 against

144.99 million tons in the previous

fiscal year.

Largest thermal power producer,

state-run NTPC Ltd. increased its coal

imports three times during the past

fiscal year at 960,000 tons, according

to government data.

However, power generation com-

panies have maintained that mere

higher supplies would not be a suf-

ficient reason for domestic power

producers to reduce their import

shipments. In a communication to

the government, the Association of

Independent Power Producers (AIPP)

has claimed that domestic coal min-

ers were steadily increasing reserve

price in the range of 10-32% for coal

offers for sales through spot forward

e-auctions. And the higher reserve

price ensured that to secure supplies

through bidding, a power company

had to pay a premium ranging 30-

40% over notified price of coal.

This had triggered a piquant situa-

tion where domestic coal-based power

companies were losing out in compet-

itiveness of electricity pricing vis-à-vis

imported coal-based power plants. If

high domestic prices were sustained,

the former, too, would be forced to re-

sort to imports even though higher vol-

ume supplies might be available in the

domestic market, independent power

producers said in a communication.

Bryn Bach Coal Wants to Extend Operation at Glan LashMine bosses have asked for more time

to extract coal from an open-cast site,

on top of separate plans to extract a

further 110,000 metric tons (mt). Bryn

Bach Coal wants to extend the time of

its current operation at Glan Lash,

near Llandybie, Carmarthernshire,

from March 31 to June 30, according

to Wales Online.

The company originally gained

planning consent from the county

council to remove 92,500 metric tons

(mt) of coal from 2012, along with a

requirement to progressively restore

the nearby Tir-y-dail tip site, create a

new cycle path and restore Glan Lash

mine after work has ceased. The orig-

inal deadline for removing the coal

was December 31, 2016, but it has

been extended since then.

Bryn Bach Coal Director Chris

James said it would be the final time

extension for the nine-hectare site,

which currently employs nine people.

He added, “The Tir-y-dail tip has been

there for about 100 years — we’ve

covered it, re-seeded it, planted trees

and put footpaths in.” He said a cycle

path had also been created.

James said Bryn Bach Coal had

also submitted a pre-application

enquiry to Carmarthenshire Coun-

cil to mine 110,000 mt of coal from

a 10-hectare site to the north of the

current Glash Lash operation.

A non-technical summary of the

proposal said, “The proposed exten-

sion is a continuation of the current

development and therefore the im-

pacts on the environment and the

amenity can be confidently assessed

using data gathered during the oper-

ational phase of the current site.”

South Korean Buys Land for Bylong Valley Coal Mine For nearly a decade, a South Korean

government-owned company has

bought up land in the Bylong valley

between Denman and Mudgee to

establish a coal mine. KEPCO, which

is 51% owned by the government,

identified Bylong as a place to mine

high-quality coal to export to South

Korea and keep its coal-fired power

stations delivering electricity to the

domestic market.

Significant to the Bylong project

is the election of a progressive South

Korean government in 2017, which

pledged to address the twin issues

of serious air pollution and carbon

emissions by shifting away from coal-

fired power generation and toward

renewables.

c a l e n d a r o f e v e n t s

June 10-12, 2019: NCTA Operations and Maintenance Confer-

ence, Ritz Carlton Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri. Contact: Web: https://movecoal.org.

June 23-25, 2019: Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute (RMCMI), Vail, Colorado. Contact: Web: www.rmcmi.org.

August 27-28, 2019: Illinois Mining Institute, Marion, Illinois. Contact: Web: www.illinoismininginsitute.org.

August 27-29, 2019: AIMEX, Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney, Australia. Contact: Web: www.aimex.com.

September 11-13, 2019: Bluefield Coal Show, Brushfork Armory, Bluefield, West Virginia. Contact: Web: www.bluefieldchamber.com/bluefield-coal-show.

October 30-November 2, 2019: China Coal & Mining Expo, New China International Exhibition Center, Beijing, China. Contact: Web: www.chinaminingcoal.com.

November 13-15, 2019: XIX International Coal Preparation Congress

& Expo 2019, New Delhi, India. Contact: Web: www.icpc2019.in/.

November 24-28, 2019: International Conference on Coal

Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland. Contact: Web: https://iccst2019.com/gb/.


https://movecoal.org

http://www.rmcmi.org

http://www.illinoismininginsitute.org

http://www.aimex.com

http://www.chinaminingcoal.com

http://www.icpc2019.in/

https://iccst2019.com/gb/


crushing systems

Rigging Crushers to Reduce Downtime

Drive system solutions are designed to protect equipment when processing rocky coalby jesse morton, technical writer

Plug-and-play solutions are popu-

lar right now across the coal space. A

couple of those technologies that are

advertised as simple to install, operate

and maintain are said to cut costs by

protecting crushing systems that pro-

cess rocky seams. Both can be adopted

by either original equipment manufac-

turers (OEMs) or miners in the market

for a new crusher, or can be integrated

into a legacy system as a retrofit. Nei-

ther are inexpensive, but both promise

solid cost savings in the long run.

Drives for Feeder BreakersSaminco International Inc. reported a

unit from its recently released JR1000

line of 1,000-volt (AC) variable fre-

quency drives was adopted by a proj-

ect run by one of America’s biggest

coal mining companies.

The miner adopted the drive as

the key component to a feeder breaker

system designed to nix downtime and

protect a crusher from tramp rock.

Either the 110-kilowatt (kW)

VF1001, as a single inverter, or the

220-kW VF1002, as a regenerative rec-

tifier, both capable of “infinitely vari-

able speed tramming,” can be built

into a feeder breaker system, Samin-

co reported.

For example, the VF1001 can be

configured “to control the conveyor

motor on the feeder breaker,” Lane

Cerise, sales and service engineer,

Saminco, said. “There is a CT that

hooks into this through a smart box

that is load sensing the crusher. As

the crusher gets a higher amp load on

it, when something is too hard, this

drive will sense it and automatically

slow the conveyor down and feed the

material through slower, so you don’t

break anything.”

Company literature described

the capability as taking “cutter motor

feedback to optimize tram speed.”

A similar capability is described as

“energy-saving regenerative braking

down to stall, which can be held in-

definitely without inverter or motor

overheating.” Certain modes of op-

eration offer “unsurpassed accuracy

to allow low speed holding when de-

scending,” especially when triggered

by a proximity detection system.

Thus, the line offers “full motor

protection” from overload, short cir-

cuits, locked rotors, jams, ground

faults and more, Saminco reported.

The solution was originally devel-

oped for a continuous miner system.

“It was designed so you don’t have to

have all the transformers,” Cerise said.

“With it, the customer doesn’t have to

have different levels of power distri-

bution,” he said. “It is just a straight

feed, a lot more efficient, and a lot

lower energy use by using 1,000 volts.”

Both the VF1001 and the VF1002

are rated for an AC input of between

855 and 1,254 volts. Output for the

former ranges from 0% up to 95% of

that input. For the latter, the DC out-

put is 135% of the AC input.

The VF1001 is a diminutive 48 by

37 by 20 cm and weighs 55 kg. The

VF1002 is 12% smaller in size, but

weighs 65 kg.

Control systems can be analog or

CAN Bus-based. “Radio-controlled”

operability is available, the company

reported.

The primary benefits include less

maintenance of crushers or convey-

ors and less downtime. “You are not

fixing things all the time because of

big rocks going through there break-

ing things,” Cerise said.

In the old days, shear pins were

used to prevent tramp rock from being

fed to a crusher. “It would get a load

and just bust pins,” Cerise said. “And

while they were trying to get all the

pins back in, the coal section is down.”

The 110-kW VF1001, left, is rated for output of up to roughly 1,250 volts AC. The 2200-kW VF1002 is a regenerative rectifier for crusher feeder breaker systems where DC is required. (Photo: Saminco)



crushing systems continued

Load sensing eliminates all that,

he said. “It is just overall cost-effi-

cient,” Cerise said. “It prolongs the

life of your mechanical parts, too.”

The drives can be calibrated based

on site specifications. “We can adjust

the speed of the conveyor to match

your belt speed so you are not over-

loading the belt,” Cerise said. “And we

can calibrate the CT brains to where

you can let your cutter get to, say, 40

amps, then it slows down or you can go

all the way to 100,” he said. “For your

belt speeds, for your load you want on

your breaker, everything is adjustable.”

Cerise described adoption and

installation of the drives as simple.

“What we can do is, if they have a ma-

chine and they want to retrofit it and

upgrade it, then we can actually take

this and integrate it into their feeder

breaker, and change it out to this sys-

tem,” he said. “Or if you are an OEM

manufacturer, we can integrate it into

a brand-new feeder breaker.”

Saminco will oversee installation

and train users. “We’ve got a program-

mer that adjusts it, or we have a display

so that you can do a potentiometer to

change the speed you want it to go to

match your belt speeds,” Cerise said.

The solution can be rigged for remote

monitoring from the control room, he

said. Thus far, most customers have

declined that option. “Right now, they

just set it up where they want it, how

they want it, and then let it go.”

Among those customers is Alliance

Coal and a couple trona mining oper-

ations. So far, Cerise said, the feedback

has been positive. “Everybody loves

a variable frequency conveyor and

the load sensing because it is all-ad-

justable and the maintenance goes

away,” he said. “You get more produc-

tion because of less downtime.”

Couplings Cut CostsVoith reported SafeSet torque-limit-

ing couplings (TLC) now come stan-

dard on many OEM crushers, to in-

clude those made by major suppliers

in the coal space.

Manufacturers and miners who

adopt the solution for new equip-

ment realize a couple key benefits,

Stephen Klein, application engineer,

Voith, said. “Integrating the SafeSet in

from the start will save the end-users

significant costs in the future, but also

it can be a little difficult to retrofit one

in after the fact because things have

to be moved back and a lot of times

the equipment doesn’t allow that,” he

said. “If we can get the SafeSets in at

the start, it also helps the OEM of the

crusher sell it because the mainte-

nance will be significantly less.”

This also means maintenance-

related downtime will be reduced.

Adoption comes at a cost that

Klein said is muted when in the right

context. “There is a high initial cost at

the beginning,” he said. “But when you

think about how much money you are

going to be saving not repairing equip-

ment or trying to get whatever back up

and running, it is worth that money.”

Installed on a driveline, SafeSet,

the simplest and flagship offering

from Voith’s line of TLCs, cuts main-

tenance and downtime by preventing

torque spikes from damaging a system

when, for example, a crusher jams.

SafeSet contains two specially coat-

ed friction sleeves that are engaged with

applied hydraulic pressure. Like a fuse,

in an overload situation, the coupling

releases the hydraulic pressure instant-

ly and freely rotates on internal bear-

ings, transmitting no torque through

the driveline and saving it from failure.

“There is no metal on metal,”

Klein said. “What it does is it will re-

lease the oil pressure, allowing it to

free spin and preventing that torque

from transmitting back to your very

expensive gearbox or motor and sav-

ing you the expense of costly damage

Queensland Miner Purchases More Sizers

McLanahan Corp. reported it received the second order in one year from a Queensland coal miner for DDC-Sizers. The sizers are scheduled for delivery and commissioning before Q2 2020.

The mine currently operates three McLanahan feeder-break-ers and four sizers.

The equipment will operate in a parallel configuration with two three-stage crushing modules, Brad Anstess, coal specialist, McLanahan, said.

The circuit will process 715 tons per hour of raw coal. The sec-ondary sizer will process minus 250 mm coal from the ROM feeder breaker. The tertiary sizer will render product in the 50-mm range.

McLanahan sizers complete 3.5 hours of factory testing pri-or to delivery, the company reported. Bearings, motor couplings, and gearboxes are monitored for vibration and temperature.

The miner is “happy” with the equipment, Chris Raines, mechanical engineer and project manager, McLanahan, said. “Particularly with the design improvements we’ve made over previous machines.”

Above, the DDC-Sizers were tested at the factory where the McLanahan team focused on ensuring roll center adjustment was accurate, a key concern of the miner, the company reports. (Photo: McLanahan Corp.)



crushing systems continued

from the shockwaves coming back

through the equipment.”

In the event of a shutdown, the cou-

pling will indicate if a torque overload

and corresponding release occurred.

“There will be a little bit of an oil mist

and you will see there will be a brass

cap missing,” Klein said. “It will be very

obvious that it is the SafeSet, and then

you can reset it really quickly.”

As part of the reset, “you have to

re-pressurize it,” he said. “You can

have these reset in 10 minutes, once

they are down.”

That’s nothing compared to the

downtime resulting from a damaged

motor or drive. “With breakage, you

could be down for a whole shift,”

Klein said.

For use with a crusher, the torque

threshold setting on a SafeSet cou-

pling is constant for the life of the

coupling. “SafeSet will not fatigue at

all,” Klein said, and thus “will not give

a false release.”

Company literature stated the cou-

pling is rated for up to 20,000 kiloNew-

ton-meters and can be configured for

process-specific requirements.

A similar solution that would be

advantageous for certain crushing

systems is Voith’s SlipSet TLC.

For a system processing coal

from a particularly rocky seam, Slip-

Set can act as a shock absorber for

short-duration torque overloads. In-

stead of releasing, the coupling slips

temporarily, allowing the system to

pass small chunks of tramp rock. It

ensures continuous production, the

company reported.

The torque threshold can be set

to the needs of the crusher system.

When required, SlipSet can slip con-

tinuously until the drive is stopped

and the jam rectified.

The couplings have been on the

market for years and the feedback

from customers is uniformly positive,

Klein said. “On SlipSet, our custom-

ers really like that because they don’t

have to spend the time re-pressuriz-

ing it,” he said. “They also have re-

duced breakages on their gearboxes.”

One such customer, Murray Ener-

gy’s Ohio Valley Coal Co., was break-

ing chains regularly before adopting

SlipSet. “Once we installed the cou-

plings, they didn’t break chain for al-

most six months,” Klein said.

Installation is easy. “Setting them

is very simple,” Klein said. “When

you get that coupling, it will have a

nameplate on it, and it will have what

it needs to be set to.” Further instruc-

tions come with the packaging.

The training offered includes on-

site demos overseen by Voith and vid-

eo instructions.

Voith also offers the newly released

Condition Monitoring System (CMS)

310, which leverages sensors mount-

ed on the couplings, collects data, and

provides remote users with informa-

tion via an HMI panel or Web portal.

“Slip angle is continuously measured

and calculated to determine if and

how much the TLC has slipped,” the

company reported. “The status infor-

mation can then be used to quickly

identify any need for action.”

The initial cost of adoption of the

couplings is more than balanced by the

cost-savings that result from reduced

damage, maintenance and downtime,

Klein said. “It is a very simple piece of

equipment that will save you a lot of

money,” he said. “You take multiple

shutdowns, all that cost, you’ve more

than paid for that SafeSet just in the first

couple of shutdowns that you prevent.”

To protect drives and motors, Voith’s torque limit coupling, the SafeSet, is designed to release during torque spikes. (Photo: Voith)

Voith’s SafeSet allows a crusher to pass small chunks of tramp rock without damaging the drive or causing downtime. (Photo: Voith)


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power distribution

Next-generation Solution Distributes

Power Underground

Modular systems save time and money while advancing mine sections

An underground power distribu-

tion center is essential for keeping a

mine’s operations up and running.

Supplying power underground and

minimizing downtime outages in

support of advancing mine sections

is a unique challenge.

In a typical underground mine,

electrical power from the utility first

connects to a surface substation. At

this substation, transmission voltag-

es coming to the mine are normal-

ly routed through a gang-operated

switch and a set of fuses. These allow

the substation to be disconnected

from the utility and also provides

electrical protection for the sub-

station. From there, power is trans-

formed to operating voltages and

routed through additional switching,

fusing and vacuum circuit break-

ers. Power is then fed out via cables

into the underground sections of the

mine. The substation’s surface unit

normally provides ground monitor-

ing and ground-fault protection.

In an underground mine, power

from the surface substation is rout-

ed to individual sections, where it is

stepped down to a power center for

distribution to the operating equip-

ment. This equipment can include

longwall controls, continuous min-

ers, roof bolters, electric haulage ve-

hicles, conveyors, pumps, battery

chargers and ventilation fans.

Most underground power centers

serve as smaller versions of the surface

substation, providing switches, trans-

formers, fuses, vacuum circuit break-

ers, ground monitoring, fault protec-

tion and low-voltage output circuits

protected by molded-case breakers.

As the working sections of the mine

advance, these power centers must be

shut down, disconnected from the pri-

mary electrical feed, and then moved

to the next position. New cabling must

extend to the power center, and often

a separate vacuum circuit breaker

unit — or even an additional power

center — must be placed in line for

protection and to re-establish ground-

ing. Production is halted during this

process, costing the mine time.

This was the challenge Line Power

decided to tackle, producing a solu-

tion that streamlines the relocation of

distribution nodes in an underground

mining or tunneling operation.

Developing the TechnologyA division of Electro-Mechanical Corp.

and headquartered in Bristol, Virginia,

Line Power is well known to its cus-

tomers for partnering with them to

engineer specific solutions that meet

their power distribution needs. EMC is

one of America’s largest privately held,

family-owned manufacturers of elec-

trical apparatus. The company’s Line

Power division offers electrical power

distribution components and systems

for mining, tunneling, data centers and

other mission-critical applications.

“The Modular Power System is the

result of downtime cost and produc-

tion concerns of our customers,” said

Troy Mickelsen, Line Power’s Western

region business development manag-

er. “We heard from multiple custom-

ers, took their challenges into consid-

eration, conceived an idea that we felt

would work in these operations, and

developed a sound solution.”

Line Power’s patent-pending

Modular Power System incorporates

all the components necessary for an

underground power center. This sys-

tem reduces the amount of down-

time required to transition a power

center to a new location, and reduces

the need of incorporating additional

power centers to the operation.

The Modular Power System con-

sists of two sections that are joined to-

gether as a single unit, but can be easily

separated to deploy a chain scenario.Being able to separate the two halves of the Modular Power System creates advantages as far as advancing the section as well as fitting the unit inside a skip cage.



power distribution continued

The first, or input module (Mod-

ule 1), consists of an input connector

and a feed-through connector sepa-

rated by a vacuum circuit breaker, an

Auto-Jet II load-break switch, fuses,

and a feed-through, programma-

ble, over-current and ground mon-

itor-control module. This control

module operates the vacuum circuit

breaker and is available in capacities

of 500 kVA to 3,000 kVA. When discon-

nected from the output module, the

input module is similar to a vacuum

circuit-breaker house.

The second, or output module

(Module 2), consists of a main three-

phase transformer to step down the

input voltage to the voltage required

by the operating equipment, along

with a second, single-phase trans-

former to provide voltage for control

The input and output modules are joined as a single unit, which steps down the input voltage to the voltage required by the equipment.

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circuits, lighting, a load center, and

GFCI receptacles for utility power

requirements. The low-voltage out-

put circuits, available in 30-amp to

6,000-amp capacities, feature full-

ground fault and ground-check

protection, and the control cir-

cuit fuses have blown-fuse indi-

cators for quick troubleshooting.

The three-phase circuits consist of

output panels, each equipped with

output receptacles protected by cir-

cuit breakers. The output module

is equipped with meters for a quick

readout of voltage and current. The

coupled configuration also displays

the voltage and current. An internal

Ethernet switch is provided for con-

nection to mine monitoring systems

and can read input, output, feed-

through current and the status of

the starter circuits.

Depending on the capacities

and requirements of each individu-

al mine, the main transformer can

either be a liquid-filled transformer

or Line Power Mine-Duty dry-type

transformer. High-efficiency trans-

formers can be provided for either

option to help reduce operating loss-

es and costs. Copper buss bar is stan-

dard for both sections.

OperationAt the start of a mining section, the

Modular Power System performs as

a standard power center with the

two halves being connected. As the

section advances, rather than shut-

ting down the section and move

the power center, the mine can in-

stall a second-input module using

the feed-through circuit from the

original modular power center. Be-

cause the feed-through circuit in

the original Modular Power System

is controlled via a vacuum circuit

breaker, the cabling can be installed

and connected to the second input

module while the mining operation

continues uninterrupted. Once the

second input module is installed, the

output module of the original power

center can be moved and connected

to the second input module, and the

system re-energized. This greatly re-

duces the downtime needed to make

an advance. As the section or tunnel

continues to advance, this process

can be repeated as necessary.

“Setup time and downtime are

costly in mining,” said Mark Grom-

lovits, director of engineering, Elec-

tro-Mechanical Corp. “Mine owners

and operators can’t afford to lose

valuable time while moving a power

source out of one section or tunnel to

another. The modular concept allows

our customers to prepare in advance

of moves. This solution is all about

saving setup time and ensuring con-

tinued operations.”

As the mine continues to advance,

the cost savings using this modular

approach becomes apparent. The

cost of additional input modules

come at a fraction of the cost for a

complete power center. Each time

the chain is extended, savings are

compounded. In addition, the setup

of another input module can be com-

pleted concurrently with mine pro-

duction, minimizing downtime while

advancing the mining equipment.

In addition to cost savings, in-

dividual modules can be modified,

retrofitted or upgraded for different

As the section advances, rather than shutting down the section to move the power center, the mine can install a second input module using the feed-through circuit from the original modular power center.




voltages, various input and output

connectors, and monitoring circuits

without having to take the entire unit

out of the mine.

Design Flexibility Allows Mechanical AdvantagesBeing able to separate the two halves

of the Modular Power System creates

smaller, easier-to-move units. This

offers advantages, not only when

making a section or tunnel move, but

also when designing equipment to fit

inside a skip cage. Smaller units also

incur less damage during a move than

larger, more cumbersome equipment.

The Modular Power System can be

engineered for specific input and out-

put voltages, capacities, liquid-filled

transformers or Line Power Mine-Du-

ty dry-type transformers, custom-

er-specific relays and monitors, size

requirements, operating altitudes or

other parameters specific to each op-

eration and application.

In addition, the input section can

be equipped with Line Power’s mag-

netically actuated vacuum circuit

breaker (MAVRiC). When coupled

with an optical arc-flash relay system,

the MAVRiC can open the circuit in as

little as two cycles, helping to mitigate

the arc flash.

The output section can be

equipped with optional frequency or

soft-start packages for belt or pump

operation.

The Modular Power System’s out-

put section can also be equipped

with Line Power’s patented DTS

Downtime Saver feeder circuit pro-

tectors. The DTS feeder circuit pro-

tector combines all of the compo-

nents of one 5-kV feeder circuit into

one draw-out drawer. For mainte-

nance or troubleshooting, the drawer

can be disconnected and pulled out

for repairs without shutting down

the entire module. If repairs cannot

be made on site, the drawer can be

removed, replaced with a spare, and,

after making a few relay settings, the

circuit can be re-energized, minimiz-

ing costly downtime.

“Numerous modifications or vari-

ations are possible to meet the spe-

cific needs of customers’ work sites,”

said Todd Dewar, vice president of

engineering and supply chain for

Electro-Mechanical Corp. “Over the

60-plus years Line Power has been in

operation, our customers have grown

with us, and our relationships with

them are all about our responsiveness

and ability to figure out what they need

along the way. Many years of patented

designs, including the Modular Pow-

er System, have come from our will-

ingness to listen to customers. This,

combined with our ability to adapt to

changing industry requirements, has

made us a solutions provider.”

This article was written and submit-

ted by Line Power.

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Sponsored by:

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export markets

Trade Disputes and Increased Demand Cause

Shifts in International Coal Markets

Coal quality has an influence, but China sets the prices for nowby steve fiscor, editor

The global seaborne coal trade is a

market in transition. Despite the tariffs

and trade rhetoric, prices remained

high and business was brisk for both

thermal and metallurgical coals last

year. Met coal demand moves in lock-

step with steel production and, while

China and India continue to produce

record amounts of steel, steel produc-

tion in other parts of the world has

slowed. The fact that coal producers

have not brought more met coal to

market is helping to sustain prices for

coking coals. Is there a correction in

the offing or is this the new norm?

Demand for thermal coal is grow-

ing in Asia and the Pacific Basin and

declining in the Atlantic Basin. U.S.

coal suppliers benefited the most

from last year’s high prices, but spot

prices for thermal coal have softened

recently. Large amounts of coal are

piling up in Australia and it’s only a

matter time before those coals enter

the market. Does Asia have the capac-

ity to absorb that excess production if

China chooses to import more coal

from other sources?

Trying to predict the future in this

market is difficult, especially when it’s

almost impossible to determine fu-

ture coal prices more than one to two

months ahead. Speaking at the recent

Longwall USA Conference & Exhibi-

tion in Pittsburgh, Nick Cron, general

manager, portfolio optimization and

marketing, Xcoal, shared market ob-

servations. Xcoal is a team of more

than 100 professionals that focus on

international coal marketing and lo-

gistics. In his presentation, Global Coal

Market Overview, Cron detailed recent

market trends and identified some

possible concerns moving forward.

Xcoal markets coal. It doesn’t own

U.S. coal production assets, but it is

actively pursuing investment oppor-

tunities in coal mines and infrastruc-

ture outside the U.S. The company’s

goal is to build volumes outside the

U.S. that match those from the U.S.

More recently, they have developed

some creative methods for moving

coals to market in the Pacific Basin.

“The U.S. supply base for Xcoal is

the core of our business,” Cron said.

“We have built on that by growing our

footprint outside the U.S. as a hedge to

become a better supplier to our partners

here in the U.S. Some niche businesses

allow us to tap into markets where some

of our competitors cannot.”

In 2019, Xcoal will likely sell 29

million tons of coal. The company fin-

ished 2018 just under 20 million tons.

“In 2017, most of our non-U.S. portfo-

lio was simply traded,” Cron said. “We

took a buy and sell position and had a

traded book running from our desk in

Singapore. In 2018, we took an equity

position in some of these operations

and rebalanced our non-U.S. portfolio.”

Xcoal is predominantly a met ex-

porter (70:30) and rather opportunistic

with its thermal exports. They have an

exclusive arrangement with CONSOL

Energy to export its high-Btu northern

Appalachian (NAPP) coal. They have

a similar ratio of U.S. coal to non-U.S.

coal (73:27). “Ultimately, our goal is to

reach 50:50,” Cron said. “The growth

in non-U.S. supply provides a natu-

ral hedge for Xcoal’s core U.S. base

and makes Xcoal a stronger customer,

counterparty, supplier and partner.

When there is a market downturn, we

can maintain our customers by shifting

the supply to them, while still main-

taining our traditional offtake from the

U.S. despite international prices.”

For Xcoal, China has grown from

nothing in 2015 to 17.4% of its total

portfolio and that was on the back

of a 25% tariff on U.S. coal. “We were Following a 4-year bear market, met coal prices have averaged $170/mt for the last 8.5 years.

The U.S. accounts for the largest portion of growth in coking coal exports last year.



export markets continued

able to maintain our Chinese custom-

ers by supplying non-U.S. coal into

China,” Cron said. “We will continue

to maintain our customers until these

tariffs are hopefully lifted.”

For global coal sales, the growth in

Asia is in China and India. The logis-

tics of transitioning from the Atlantic

Basin into the Pacific Basin, howev-

er, are quite expensive. Should coal

prices drop, transportation costs will

consume a larger portion of the total

delivered price.

Drivers Behind Strength in Global Coal PricesSince April 2016, which was the bot-

tom of the four-year bear cycle, the

market has witnessed relatively strong

coking and thermal coal prices on the

back of very strong demand. Limit-

ed supplies have entered the market.

With coking coals specifically, the

market has sustained an average price

of $170/mt for more than eight years

with extreme volatility from $74/mt

to $315/mt. Last year, met coal prices

averaged more than $200/mt, which

has been quite favorable to suppliers.

“On the thermal side, we are seeing

significant demand out of Asia,” Cron

said. “The activity is predominantly in

the Pacific Basin with growth in south-

east Asia. The challenge for the U.S. is

the logistics of getting coal to market.

The strength in this

market has pulled

up Newcastle ther-

mal pricing, which

allowed Colom-

bian and South

African coals to

enter the market.

That allowed the

U.S. to capitalize

on strong pricing

into Europe.”

The world

today faces an

unprecedented

period with tariffs

on coal that no

one could have

predicted. “Trade disputes have led to

tariffs against U.S. coal, impacting our

ability to win business in China and

Turkey,” Cron said. For China, that’s

25% on top of the current Most Fa-

vored Nations tariffs of 3% to 6%, on

coking and thermal coals, respectively.

Turkey also has a 13.7% tariff on U.S.

coals. The U.S. reduced its 50% tariff

on Turkish steel to 25%. The U.S. is cur-

rently negotiating the General System

of Preferences (GSP) with India, which

is the equivalent of the U.S. waiving

tariffs on Indian products into the U.S.

This could pose an impact to U.S. coals

moving into India. Tariffs did not influ-

ence total demand, just the trade flows.

“We have seen unprecedent-

ed volatility with coking coal prices

since July 2016,” Cron said. “Extreme

rains and flooding in China creat-

ed demand at any cost and pushed

prices above $300/mt by end of 2016.

Cyclones in Queensland and subse-

quent flooding kept coal out of the

market. Mine outages and railway is-

sues persist today in Australia.”

Looking at forward pricing, the

coking coal market is still in a strong

price environment. “We will likely

average more than $200/mt through

2019 based on the forward projec-

tions,” Cron said. “The uncertainty

is beyond that. The open interest on

that exchange ends in 2022 and those

prices are $170/mt today. The lack of

liquidity on that exchange may not al-

low those prices to come to fruition.”

Five countries export a significant

amount of coking coals: Australia (the

largest), the U.S., Canada, Russia and

Mozambique. During 2018, U.S. cok-

ing coal producers were the biggest

beneficiaries of the strong pricing

levels. As a country, the U.S. added

the most growth, 6 million mt of the

15 million mt of growth last year. “It’s

hard to believe that, at prices of more

than $200/mt, the market would only

experience a growth of 15 million mt,

which is 5% or so,” Cron said. “This

shows a lack of new investment and PI 2 prices have dropped more than 30% from December 2018 to present.

China and India lead the world in pig iron production.




that has kept supply in check, result-

ing in strong pricing.”

Shifting to thermal coal exports,

Cron said the market grew by 70

million mt last year and the U.S.

accounted for 30% of that growth,

which relates directly to the shift-

ing market dynamics in the Atlantic

Basin. Indonesia added the most to

the growth, but this was lower grade

coals. Russian exports were also up as

they capitalized on a depreciating ru-

ble, which was down 20% to the U.S.

dollar. Australian thermal exports

were up marginally. The market saw

declines year-on-year from Colom-

bia and South Africa. Colombia had

weather-related issues that affected

production and South Africa had do-

mestic coal shortages.

Looking at API 2 and API 4, which

represent the Atlantic Basin and In-

dia, respectively, these indices were

ranging from $90/mt to $95/mt in

December 2018. API 2 is a delivered

price into Europe and that is how

most of the U.S. thermal coal from

the East Coast is priced. API 2 prices

have dropped more than 30% from

December 2018 to present.

“Since the high in October 2018,

we’re down more than 40% and that’s

significant for U.S. coal operators,”

Cron said. “Coal producers expected

a downturn in prices, but these pric-

es are extremely challenging and not

sustainable for future thermal coal

growth. API 2 is $58/mt delivered to

Europe. That means a NAPP mine

would receive less than $20/mt after

paying the transportation cost. For-

tunately, many of these NAPP mines

are highly efficient operations and

they have hedges with forward sales

to monetize the 2018 levels to sustain

this downturn.”

Looking at long-term market dy-

namics, a diminishing thermal market

in western Europe will force Atlantic

Basin suppliers to transition to the

Pacific Basin to accommodate Asian

growth. “Europe will eventually be-

come a 10-million-mt thermal coal

market,” he said. “The challenge for the

U.S. and other Atlantic Basin suppliers

will be to reduce costs to take advan-

tage of Asian markets going forward.”

The U.S. for its part has shown a

lot of resilience in the last two years

essentially doubling thermal and met

exports. “That’s a testament to the

mines, the service providers and the

rail and port infrastructure despite

challenging times,” Cron said. “That’s

also why they call the U.S. a swing

supplier for export markets.”

Market Catalysts to WatchCoal consumption is directly correlat-

ed to economic growth. The themes

more recently have been decelerat-

ing growth, which should lead to a

deceleration in steel production and

coal-intensive pig iron production.

Pig iron production year-to-date,

through April 1, is down 1.3% when

China is excluded. When China is in-

cluded, the growth in total pig iron

production is 5.1%.

“This is what’s going to support

pricing for met coal markets,” Cron

said. “The concern is that Chinese fig-

ure of 9.3% pig iron growth in the first

three months of this year, compared

to last year. That comes on the back

of very strong fiscal economic stimu-

lus. Growth can only be stimulated so

many times before it begins to have

a deleterious effect. If the trade dis-

putes continue and U.S. does not find

a resolution with China and, if Aus-

tralia continues to experience issues

with China regarding the import of its

coal, this number could decrease.”

China is producing steel at record

levels. In March, Chinese steel pro-

ducers set their highest monthly out-

put and then they broke that record

in April. “Again, this was with strong

fiscal stimulus in the first quarter to

counteract other trade issues, but this

is a very good scenario for selling coal

into China,” Cron said.

In 2016, Chinese steel production

looked as if it had reached a plateau.

“At that time, many thought Chinese

steel output would start to decline by

1% to 3% per year, but that has not

been the case,” Cron said.

Steel production requires coal

and China does have a reserve base.

“They have the volume, but not the

quality,” Cron said. “There is a need

for low-sulfur imports. Many of the

Chinese steel mills are located on

the coast, which places the domes-

tic producers at a logistical disad-

vantage. They would have to pay a

premium to transport coal to these

coastal steel mills, which justifies the

coal imports.” Cron estimated a mar-

ket arbitrage of $20/mt in favor of

seaborne coals.In March, Chinese steel pro-ducers set their highest monthly out-put and then they broke that record in April.




A decline in demand from western Europe will give way to an increase in demand from Asia. Atlantic Basin suppliers will need to make a transition.

Australia is China’s largest suppli-

er. China’s customs clearance on Aus-

tralian coal imports has slowed, and

while no official mandate has been

issued to restrict Australian cargoes,

ports are behaving differently with

customs clearances. The ports are

reportedly only discharging Austra-

lian coals during daylight hours and

sometimes only for six hours per day,

which is a 75% reduction in port-dis-

charge availability. This has slowed

the entry of Australian coal and result-

ed in strong pricing, which works in

favor of the Chinese domestic market.

Some Chinese ports are taking

three to four months to discharge and

clear customs for Australian coal car-

goes. “Xcoal has sold a couple of coal

cargoes during this period and it was

discharged and cleared in less than 30

days,” Cron said. “That’s a significant

advantage, especially when the pric-

es are unclear two and three months

down the road.”

Despite the trade dispute, China

continues to show interest in low-ash,

low-sulfur, low-vol coking coals from

the U.S. The U.S. alternative is current-

ly “taxed” at 28%. Buyers understand

they need to absorb at least some of

the 25% import tariff if they buy U.S.

coking coals, Cron explained. The out-

come of government talks are not yet

final, but coal has been identified as a

key negotiating chip and a way to re-

duce deficit. Upon a trade resolution,

China may shift to U.S. thermal and

coking coal at the expense of Australia.

The real growth market for the U.S.

and Australia will be India. India im-

ports the most seaborne coking coal

as it has no significant domestic cok-

ing coal supply. Indian steel mills have

been able to increase steel production

even with the high prices. In less than

five years, India steel production has

grown by 36 million mt. Essar Steel,

currently producing 10 million mt,

could be acquired by a joint venture

between Nippon Steel and Arcelor-

Mittal. That could increase its steel

production. JSW has plans to grow to

50 million mt from 33 million mt to-

day. “The Indian growth target is 300

million mt of steel by 2050,” Cron said.

“That’s a bit unlikely, but you can eas-

ily make the case for an additional 25

million to 50 million mt, which would

be a game-changer for the seaborne

coking coal market that may finally

allow some new investment.”

Short-term OutlookFor coking coal, Cron believes pro-

ducers should brace for a price cor-

rection over the next one to two

quarters. “We have been wrong for a

couple of quarters saying that there

will be a price correction,” Cron said.

“If you look at the external factors,

there should be a price correction.

China holds the cards with import ar-

bitrage, economic stimulus and steel

production. On top of that, there are

significant inventories in Australia

waiting to hit the market and they

would likely discount prices.”

On the thermal coal side, the de-

mand growth in southeast Asia is real.

“It’s challenging logistically to reach

customers in southeast Asia due to

restricted drafts and expensive sea

freight,” Cron said. The largest ther-

mal supplier for that region, Indone-

sia, could grow supplies to keep a lid

on those prices.

The opportunities for U.S. ther-

mal coals lie in the Mediterranean

(Turkey) and Indian markets. “The

market for U.S. coals off the East

Coast [NAPP] and the Gulf of Mexico

[Illinois Basin] is India,” he said. “And,

it’s a big enough market to absorb

that coal, but there are factors that

could challenge prices, such as alter-

native fuels (petcoke) or low-quality

coals from other Asian sources.

The U.S. produces high-quality

coals the world sees as a staple part

of its blends. It should garner a pre-

mium, but sulfur levels for some U.S.

coals could negate that premium. “We

believe there is an export market for

U.S. thermal coals,” Cron said. “The

current prices present a challenge.

We will find a way to get that coal to

market, especially for India.”



material handling

Staying on Top of Stockpile Management

Smarter, quicker solutions emerge for measuring and controlling stockpile size and qualityby russell a. carter, contributing editor

In tradition-driven industries like min-

ing, deep-rooted habits and customs

die hard. Pre-digital-world miners

might have mistakenly equated task fa-

miliarity with productivity, while man-

agers could lean heavily on institutional

memory to plan projects and budgets.

But things change: Big Data is driving

the industry down a path in which old

policies and practices are regarded with

suspicion and new sources of informa-

tion shine bright lights into the dim

corners of conventional mining busi-

ness intelligence. In the process, one of

the most mundane links in the mining

chain, stockpile management, is being

polished by technological tools to a

higher level of operational luster.

Stockpiles fulfill a number of func-

tions ranging from alleviating feed-

flow interruptions at process plants,

to blending of various types of ores

and coals. At the other end of the min-

ing value chain, shipping-terminal

stockpiles represent a near-final step

in the quality-control chain before

mineral products are delivered to the

customer.

In line with an industry-wide in-

terest in maximizing asset utilization,

producers are taking a closer look at

how stockpile management can im-

prove key metrics such as plant utili-

zation versus plant availability ratios.

They are refining their stockpile strat-

egy, taking advantage of equipment

and control-system advances to re-

fresh stockyard infrastructure, and,

through improved material flow and

quality control, reinforce their capa-

bility to maintain market share of their

products. High on the list of upgrade

objectives are automation of all or part

of stockpile operations, replacement

of aged stacker-reclaimer setups with

new-generation models, and quicker,

more accurate stockpile accounting.

A sample of recent industry an-

nouncements underscores the degree

of interest in stockyard upgrades. In

Western Australia, Rio Tinto Iron Ore

is moving ahead on a $39 million pro-

ject to replace stackers at its Parabur-

doo mine. The existing stackers were

part of the mine’s original infrastruc-

ture, loading the very first shipment of

iron ore from the mine in 1972. In 46

years of operation, they have stacked

more than 800 million tons of ore.

TAKRAF is leading the design and

implementation phases of the stack-

er replacement. The company’s of-

fice in Perth is managing the project,

with support from its office in Bris-

bane and global competence centers.

The company said design of the new

equipment is under way and fabrica-

tion is scheduled to begin later this

year, with installation and commis-

sioning finishing in early 2020.

The new stackers feature state-

of-the-art engineering design and

mechanical technology, the latest

generation of variable-speed drive

control and fiber optic networking,

an advanced anti-collision system

with GPS backup, and automated op-

eration monitored from the Rio Tinto

Operations Center in Perth.

In a similar project, thyssenk-

rupp just announced it is supplying

large-scale stockyard machines for

BHP’s South Flank iron ore project in

the central Pilbara region of Western

Australia. The contract is valued at

approximately $170 million, making

it one of the largest fabrication and

construction projects the company

has conducted in Western Australia.

The South Flank project is tar-

geting first ore extraction in 2021.

Generating roughly 80 million metric

tons per year (mtpy) of output, it will

replace production from the Yandi

mine, which is reaching the end of

its economic life. Thyssenkrupp will

provide two stockyard stackers and a

As part of a contract valued at $170 million, thyssenkrupp will build and install two stockpile stackers and a reclaimer for BHP’s South Flank iron ore project in Western Australia. Shown here are similar machines at work in BHP’s Mining Area C. (Photo: thyssenkrupp)



material handling continued

reclaimer for loading ore trains bound

for Port Hedland. The machines will

have a capacity of 20,000 mtph, mak-

ing them the largest rail-mounted

stackers and reclaimer in the world,

according to the company, which also

noted they comply with the latest Aus-

tralian design-standard requirements

and include technology improve-

ments centered on safe construction,

operation and maintenance activities.

Stacking It SafelyAt the Roy Hill iron ore mine, also locat-

ed in Western Australia’s Pilbara region,

guidance and control specialist RCT

reported it played a major role in im-

planting the mine’s dynamic multiple

Geofence package, which is interfaced

to fixed and mobile asset elements

within the boundaries of the Coarse

Ore Stockpile (COS). The Geofence

technology was interfaced with two

D11T Cat dozers and the radial stacker

infrastructure, including the boom that

can maneuver in multiple directions.

Both dozers were equipped with

RCT’s ControlMaster Teleremote solu-

tions, which enables the operators to

control the machines from a remote

station. Cameras are installed on the

dozers, along with other cameras on

the COS stacker, tertiary crusher infra-

structure, and two mobile communi-

cations trailers to give operators great-

er spatial awareness during operation.

The virtual perimeter around the

dozers’ stockpile area is designed to

safeguard operators, ensuring that mul-

tiple machines can seamlessly operate

in the same area without risk of colli-

sion with the fixed stacker infrastruc-

ture, or the dozers falling into vaults

or driving off the stockpile boundary.

RCT said interfacing of the dynamic

elements on the site was achieved in

partnership with Collision Detection

technology from Sitech, Trimble’s glob-

al site-solutions dealership network.

According to RCT, a number of

factors had to be addressed for the

Geofence to work effectively. Multiple

workshops and risk assessments were

conducted to define the Geofence

boundaries or virtual perimeters with-

in each element, including the dozers,

stacker boom and five vaults. Bound-

aries were designed to be configurable

with proper access authorization, al-

lowing flexibility for the operators.

Sitech’s SiTrack software was

designed to provide the Geofence

boundaries, monitor all interactions

and provide alerts within the bound-

aries, allowing the RCT system’s semi-

autonomous control over the two doz-

ers. This was achieved by using High

Precision (HP) GNSS equipment to

measure and detect the proximity of

the moving assets in the potentially

hazardous stockpile to an absolute ac-

curacy of around the +/-25-mm range.

RCT’s Custom group worked with

Sitech and Roy Hill to develop and de-

ploy the dynamic Geofence system to

interface with the ControlMaster Tel-

eremote solutions to ensure machine

functionality is inhibited by the Con-

trolMaster system at different levels of

detection on the SiTRACK system. The

integration resulted in the creation of

a variety of configurable Geofence

boundaries within the site. Each

boundary has different zones to alert

dozer operators of potential danger.

With such a high volume of visual

data being delivered to the operators

from numerous cameras, along with

the dozer pitch/roll machine dash-

board information and the Trimble

tablet display, Roy Hill decided bigger

control-room screens were required.

The operator station was upgraded

from the original two 24-inch (in.)

screens and a 17-in. Trimble tablet to

two 40-in. curved screens and a 32-

in. display for the Trimble screen. A

Trimble tablet was also relocated to

the side of the operator chair.

According to the project partners,

conducting dozer functions via re-

mote control from the operating sta-

tions eliminates the risks operators are

exposed to at the COS and processing

plant, reduces operator fatigue and in-

creases productivity. RCT’s Teleremote

solution allows for multiple views from

the dozer, which increases operator

efficiency while helping to minimize

machine damage and overall general

wear and tear. Downtime associat-

ed with shift changes also is reduced,

boosting productivity even more.

Taking It IndoorsEnvironmental considerations are in-

creasingly influencing stockpile design

and construction. For example, Sie-

mens announced it is supplying an au-

tonomous stockyard management sys-

tem to be used in a new plant for HBIS

Laoting Steel Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of

China’s HBIS Group, one of the world’s

biggest iron and steel producers. The

stockyard management system com-

prises a material tracking and manage-

ment system (MAQ), an autonomous

stockyard operating system (MOM), a

Simatic PCS 7 process control system,

consulting, engineering, project man-

agement and commissioning.

Recent environmental regulations

instituted by the Chinese government

prompted HBIS Laoting to look at us-

ing an autonomous stockyard man-

agement system, according to Sie-

mens. The latest regulations require all

newly constructed stockyards to be en-

closed. The consequent high tempera-

tures and dust levels present in these

facilities create hazardous conditions

for human workers, and autonomous

storage and retrieval machinery is nec-

essary for this type of environment.

The installation, said Siemens, will

allow machines and conveyors to be

controlled from a single system. This is

achieved using a 3D model of the exist-

ing inventory, which provides informa-

tion on volume and quality of stocked

material, enabling autonomous oper-

ation of all the plant’s storage and re-

trieval machines. Siemens claimed the

system will enable HBIS Laoting Steel

to not only reduce its operating costs,

but also achieve a 5%-10% improve-

ment in system efficiency, along with

3-7% higher production capacity and

improved worker and asset safety.




Geometrica, a Texas, USA-based

supplier of domes and space-frame

structures, has built a number of

freeform and dome bulk-storage struc-

tures providing dust control and pro-

tection from the elements for mining

companies in 35 countries. Some of the

benefits that accrue from using their

structures, according to the company,

include the ability to be erected by local

crews without welding requirements or

heavy equipment, suitability for loca-

tion on slopes or irregular terrain, no

requirement for interrupting produc-

tion during construction, and various

design capabilities such as resistance

to high loads on the structure apex or

encapsulation of the discharge point.

Geometrica said its structures’ foun-

dations can be fitted to the terrain and

can accommodate changes in elevation

of more than 140 m. Domes can be de-

signed to withstand wind speeds of up

to 150 k/h and an ice load of 110 kg/m2.

Piecing It TogetherDigitalization’s potential for improving

overall operational decision-making

and risk reduction has drawn stockpile

management into a select group of

functions that constitute a foundation

for future productivity improvements.

Skage Hem, vice president, R&D, at

FLSmidth, recently explained how the

pieces fit together: Noting how digita-

lization has the ability to “disrupt con-

ventional mining practices in a posi-

tive manner, in the last decade, data

analytics has become increasingly im-

portant in order to optimize process-

es,” he said. “Advances in connectivity,

software usability and capacity to store

large amounts of data have created a

range of potential applications for dig-

italization, all driving productivity.

Producers interested in exploit-

ing digital opportunities for improved

stockpile management can choose

from a dozen or so comprehensive mine

scheduling software solutions from ma-

jor vendors — Hexagon, Deswick, RPM-

Global, Datamine, to name just a few —

that include either integral or optional

stockpile modules; or more-specialized

software packages and services that fo-

cus on ore tracking and blending, such

as solutions from equipment manufac-

turers Metso (GeoMetso) or FLSmidth

(QCX/BlendExpert–Pile). More gener-

alized decision-support software also

can be used to solve stockpile-related

problems. Australia-based software de-

veloper Optika Solutions recently pro-

vided an example.

Optika was engaged by a large min-

ing company to essentially answer two

basic ore blending questions while the

company’s process flowsheet was still

in its design phase: How to achieve the

best approach to blending, and will the

selected blending recipe allow the com-

pany to meet its production targets? Of

main interest was the potential benefit

of establishing a coarse ore stockpile.

According to Optika, its Akumen

analytics platform proved to be the

right tool for this problem through its

inbuilt scenario management and exe-

cution features. Akumen’s Asset Library

was a single source of truth for all as-

set-related data, helping identify and

resolve conflicts in process configura-

tions.

Based on the final overall mod-

el developed by the platform, it was

shown that a coarse ore stockpile be-

tween crushing and the plant would

be beneficial from several aspects such

as keeping the grade of the plant feed

within the target range more than 95%

of the time and enabling the mine to

meet operational targets on through-

put and utilization, since it decouples

crushing and ore processing.

Speeding It UpEffective stockpile management de-

pends on accurate, timely updates of

pile volume and content. Accuracy and

speed of completion are necessary to

make volume surveys useful, and until

recently, these two criteria were often

mutually exclusive or extremely cash-

and resource-intensive. However, the

emergence of stockpile evaluation

using sensor-equipped UAVs, mobile

and stationary LiDAR equipment, sat-

ellite photogrammetry and even smart-

phone apps has mostly eliminated

the traditional practice of assigning a

survey crew to walk the site and climb

stockpiles in order to measure them.

This reduces the obvious risk factor,

dramatically speeding up data collec-

tion and analysis, and avoiding the oc-

casional need to shut down operations

while crews were taking measurements.

The latest generation of sen-

sor-equipped UAVs, for example, can

provide single-digit centimeter-scale

survey accuracy, while the convenience

and low cost of drone operation allows

producers to conduct stockpile surveys

far more frequently and eliminate out-

side-party involvement in collection

and analysis of what might be consid-

ered sensitive information. The avail-

ability of drones suitable for industrial

use and the rising interest from indus-

trial customers in drone surveying and

inspection has spawned a large num-

An RTK module is integrated directly into DJI’s new Phantom 4 RTK drone, providing real-time, centimeter-level positioning data for improved absolute accuracy on image metadata. The drone’s new TimeSync feature continually aligns the flight controller, camera and RTK module.




ber of UAV-related enterprises catering

to resource and infrastructure industry

customers. How many of these fledg-

ling companies will survive the rough

air of the turbulent UAV services mar-

ketplace remains to be seen, but even

major OEMs like Hitachi, Komatsu

and Caterpillar are spending money

to establish a foothold in the sector,

implementing drone-based hardware,

software and services to add another

dimension to their connected-worksite

scenarios. Dominant players in the

sector continue to offer and expand a

variety of solutions that include drone

models designed for professional and

“prosumer” users, tailored drone map-

ping and surveying software packages,

and even fully automated drone opera-

tion, service and data analysis.

Among the most recent develop-

ments, Propeller Aero, a cloud-based

drone analytics company, is partner-

ing with drone builder DJI to create

the Propeller PPK Solution based on

DJI’s new Phantom 4 RTK drone. Pro-

peller also announced the startup of a

partnership with Komatsu America in

August, starting with a focus on con-

struction-site management, but with

the mining industry in mind as well.

Propeller said its PPK Solution is

a fully integrated software and hard-

ware system that reliably provides

photogrammetric model outputs in

geodetic, projected or local coordinate

systems. It provides accuracy of 3 cm

from independent checkpoints across

small and large survey areas (check-

points up to 1 km from GCPs). To cap-

ture surveys of this accuracy, all that

is needed is one “smart” control point

on the ground, over a known point if

working in local coordinates. Propel-

ler claims its PPK Solution has been

shown to reduce the time required to

complete a drone survey by 70% com-

pared with a traditional workflow us-

ing multiple GCPs across a worksite.

DJI launched the Phantom 4 RTK

quadcopter in mid-October, featur-

ing an RTK module integrated direct-

ly into the drone, providing real-time,

centimeter-level positioning data for

improved absolute accuracy on image

metadata. Non-RTK drones require

multiple ground-control points per

square kilometer, which take sever-

al hours to place. The DJI Phantom 4

RTK has a centimeter-accurate RTK

navigation-positioning system and a

high-performance imaging system,

and potentially reduces the number

of GCPs needed to zero. Sitting just

beneath the RTK receiver on the drone

is a redundant GNSS module to main-

tain flight stability in signal-poor areas.

DJI said the RTK module can pro-

vide positioning accuracy of 1 cm+1

ppm (horizontal), 1.5 cm+1 ppm (ver-

tical), and the Phantom 4 RTK can

produce the 5-cm absolute horizontal

accuracy of photogrammetric models.

In late October, Kespry, another

drone-based solution provider, and

DJI announced they also are partner-

ing to offer the DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone

as part of Kespry’s stockpile measure-

ment solution for mining companies.

The company claimed adding this

solution will enable miners to stan-

dardize and capture stockpile data

across all their sites in the Kespry

platform, while continuing to use the

Kespry 2 drone platform to support

mine and site planning operations.

George Mathew, Kespry CEO and

chairman, said, “Our goal with the ad-

dition of the Mavic 2 Pro to our solu-

tion is to respond to our customers

wishing to use the Kespry aerial intel-

ligence platform across all mine sites

to standardize how stockpile data is

generated.”

Companies that choose to conduct

their drone operations in-house can

benefit from the advantages offered

by this type of setup, but they also face

the effort and expense of training per-

sonnel, staying current on drone tech-

nology and regulations, and main-

taining the equipment. For producers

interested in adopting drone-based

activities but don’t want the atten-

dant hassles of in-house operation,

Airobotics offers what may be an at-

tractive solution — a fully automated,

industrial level, multipurpose drone

platform comprising a high-capaci-

ty drone, an automated base station

and cloud-based software. The system

doesn’t require a pilot for operation.

The drone automatically launch-

es from a freestanding base station

(Airbase), and flies preprogrammed

or on-demand missions to collect

aerial data. Once a mission is com-

plete, the drone returns to the Air-

base, where a robotic arm replaces its

battery and payload before deploying

the next mission.

Israel-based Airobotics said the

system is currently being used by sev-

eral mining companies, including ICL,

South32’s Worsley Alumina operations

in Western Australia, and the Minera

Centinela copper mine, owned 70%

by Antofagasta Minerals, and 30% by

Marubeni Corp., in northern Chile.

Airobotics’ drone software, ac-

cording to the company, is both a

complete operating system and an

open platform. Third parties can

build and customize the payloads,

along with software apps to support

and manage new types of missions.

The company uses SimActive’s Cor-

relator 3D suite for photogramme-

try-based volume calculations.

This article was adapted from an arti-

cle that first appeared in the December

2018 edition of Engineering & Mining

Journal (E&MJ).

Airobotics’ fully automated drone system stores and services the drone in a self- contained enclosure called the Airbase. A human pilot or attendant is not required to conduct flight missions.



operating ideas

IBM Teams Up With Wearables Suppliers

to Improve Safety

IBM recently announced major col-

laborations with Garmin Health,

Guardhat, Mitsufuji and SmartCone

to monitor worker safety in hazard-

ous environments, including mining,

using IoT technologies integrated

into wearables.

IBM said its Maximo Worker In-

sights will monitor biometric and

environmental data to help identify

whether employees are experiencing

dangers or risk. Data will be gathered

in near real-time from wearables,

smart devices and environmental

sensors to help organizations quick-

ly respond to problems or react to

changing environmental conditions.

Employees working in rapidly

changing environments face shifting

conditions. Utilizing IoT to understand

what workers are doing in the context

of the dynamic environment around

them — including heat, height, weather

and gas levels — allows organizations to

implement near real-time and prescrip-

tive safety practices to help protect the

wellbeing of workers and which should

help them maintain lower insurance

costs, according to the company.

“Worker safety is a critical priority

for all enterprises and this collabora-

tion is a major milestone in dramat-

ically improving the way enterprises

identify and eliminate hazards in the

workplace,” said Kareem Yusuf, gen-

eral manager, IBM Watson IoT.

Garmin, a provider of wearable

technology, is teaming up with IBM

to offer organizations that deploy the

IBM Maximo Worker Insights plat-

form to receive alerts based on near

real-time sensor data from workers

wearing Garmin activity trackers.

By embedding the Garmin Health

Companion SDK in the IBM Maximo

Worker Insights platform, supervi-

sors and safety officers can receive

near real-time notifications for high

heart rate and man-down scenarios,

as well as review historical analytics

based on the biometric signals from

Garmin wearables.

IBM said Guardhat’s KYRA IoT

platform integrates and comple-

ments the IBM Worker Insights solu-

tion to provide near real-time situ-

ational awareness to workers and

company operations through the use

of Smart PPE wearables. Companies

can gain deeper understanding of the

field situation and raise awareness in

the organization to determine best

practices and methods for risk mit-

igation thereby managing or main-

taining lower insurance costs.

Mitsufuji, a wearable platform

provider in Japan, has launched a

new wearable “shirt” called Hamon

to track IoT sensor data from work-

er’s biometrics to help ensure safety

and productivity in extreme envi-

ronments. The Hamon shirt, made

from silver conductive fibers, collects

a wearer’s biometric data, including

heart rate, body temperature and lo-

cation, as well as environmental data

such as humidity, temperature, noise

and toxic gas levels, together with the

use of IBM Maximo Worker Insights.

By connecting to the IBM Maximo

Worker Insights solution on the IBM

Cloud, this data can be analyzed in

near real-time, with alerts and alarms

signaled on mobile devices to take a

break, change locations, etc., before

overexertion or injury occur.

SmartCone, which offers smart,

IoT-based safety and monitoring

solutions for securing vulnerable and

hazardous zones, is working with

IBM and integrating Maximo Worker

Insights into its portable system to

monitor worker safety in mining and

other industrial environments with

moving or dangerous no-go zones.

Utilizing multi-sensors, audio/video,

communication capabilities, com-

puting and edge gateway capabilities,

the SmartCone system combines with

IBM Maximo Worker Insights to pro-

vide supervisors and safety officers

with near real-time notification and

historical analytics on hazards relat-

ed to falls, man-downs, no-go zones,

excessive temperatures and more.

Weir Highlights New Automated Pump Throat Bushing AdjustmentIn many applications, Weir Minerals

said in a recent bulletin, the pump’s

throat bushing, or throatbush, is the

component that has the shortest life

compared to the impeller and liners

with considerable variability. Adjust-

ing the gap between the throatbush

and the impeller front shroud reduces

hydraulic recirculation in the pump.

This prevents localized wear on the

throatbush, improves hydraulic effi-

ciency and lowers the total ownership

cost for the operator. To avoid im-

pacting the plant’s production, these

adjustments are often performed

while the pump is operating. Howev-

er, this can have safety implications

Utilizing IoT to understand what workers are doing in the context of the dynamic environment around them, including heat, height, weather and gas levels, allows organizations to implement near real-time and prescriptive safety practices. Data will come from wearables, smart devices and environmental sensors.



operating ideas continued

for individuals working at the front of

the pump unit.

“Manually adjusting an alloy

throatbush on a large pump requires

several people and is labor intensive.

It requires mechanical tools to adjust

the four pusher bolts, one at a time, in

order to reduce the gap between the

throatbush and impeller. We want-

ed to find a safer and quicker way to

extend the wear life of the pump with

regular adjustments, which led us to

development of this technology,” said

Marcus Lane, global product man-

ager for centrifugal pumps for Weir

Minerals.

“Our automated throatbush ad-

justment solutions are available for

pumps fitted with either rubber or

alloy throatbushes on Warman slur-

ry pumps used in the most arduous

applications, and have been designed

with our customers’ safety and pump

operation in mind,” said Ron Bour-

geois, director of slurry pumping

technology group for Weir Minerals.

Weir said its automated adjust-

ment systems speed up the process,

allowing for more frequent adjust-

ments with minimal effort. When

maintaining an alloy throatbush, all

four bolts are adjusted at the same

time to ensure even adjustment and

accurate positioning, improving the

wear life of the throatbush.

Rubber throatbush adjustment

is considerably different because it

poses the risk of hysteresis and pre-

mature failure of the throatbush. The

goal is not to adjust to a minimum

clearance, but to maintain a standard

gap to ensure there is no contact be-

tween the impeller and throatbush,

while periodically rotating the throat-

bush face to avoid acceleration of lo-

calized wear.

“We developed an automated ro-

tating solution, which maintains an

optimum gap between the throat-

bush and impeller front shroud for

the particles to flow through without

catching and tearing the rubber. The

localized surface wear is usually near

the discharge position, but by slowly

rotating the throatbush, we even out

the material loss over the entire face.

Field results have been very positive,

showing an average of 40% increase in

wear life,” said Claudio Needham, ap-

plication engineer for Weir Minerals.

For the smaller Warman slurry

pumps used in medium- to heavy-du-

ty applications, Weir Minerals offers a

single-point adjustment mechanism,

providing both axial and rotational

repositioning. This allows one indi-

vidual to safely stand to the side of the

pump while making the adjustment.

Weir said mine operators who

have tested its adjustment technology

have reported improved wear life and

safer, simpler maintenance through

the process of regular adjustment.



suppliers news

Advanced Control System for Blasthole Rigs

Epiroc recently introduced RCS 5, the

fifth generation of the company’s Rig

Control System. It provides the next step

for the mining industry from the auto-

mation program that brought autono-

mous drilling into a sustainable reality.

Features such as machine-to-machine

communication, sharing real-time drill

plan updates between drills, auto tow-

er angle and integrated camera-view

advanced awareness are some of the

early features introduced.

“We’re excited to continue our au-

tomation journey, pushing the limits

in sustainable productivity. Launch-

ing the RCS 5 platform will allow our

customers and partners to further ad-

vance their operations, saving valu-

able time and dollars while increasing

predictability and safety with either

on board or autonomous operations”

said Tyler Berens, product line man-

ager, automation, at Epiroc Drilling

Solutions. “Autonomous operations

began with RCS 4, wait until you see

where we take it with RCS 5.”

Whether operating from a remote

location or on board the drill, the RCS

5’s intuitive main menu creates a us-

er-friendly experience that ultimately

increases productivity. This new de-

sign allows the operator to focus on

the task-at-hand and switch seam-

lessly between screens in a well-orga-

nized and dynamic environment.

RCS 5 with the new function Drill

Plan Generator (DPG) allows for cre-

ating and editing drill plans on board

the rig or from a remote location

quickly and easily.

The new Drilling Data Screen in

RCS5 features real-time depth and

penetration rate feedback with histo-

gram for easy in-hole monitoring.

SynTerra, ECSI MergeOfficials from SynTerra Corp. and ECSI

LLC have combined their operations.

Characterizing the transaction as a

unification of client-focused firms,

officials of the combined company

emphasize the operations are “still the

same.” They said the expanded com-

pany is ideally suited to serve clients

throughout the eastern United States.

SynTerra now has offices in Green-

ville, South Carolina; Lexington, Ken-

tucky; Pikeville, Kentucky; Charlotte,

North Carolina; and Birmingham, Al-

abama. The Lexington office of Bows-

er-Morner Inc. also became part of

SynTerra in the transaction.

“Having more locations, person-

nel, and service offerings means we

can offer our clients broader capa-

bilities and greater responsiveness,”

SynTerra President Mark Taylor said.

“This is such a natural fit. From day

one, we approached this as an op-

portunity to strengthen our firms to

better meet the business objectives of

our clients. We’ve been doing a lot of

planning together, and we have been

functioning as a team for months.

Now it’s official.”

Steve Gardner, president and CEO

of ECSI, expressed similar sentiment.

“From my first meeting with Mark,

I had a good feeling about the fit be-

tween SynTerra and ECSI,” Gardner

said. “Our experience, culture and vi-

sion for the future were in sync. With

ECSI recently acquiring the geotechni-

cal capabilities of the Bowser-Morner

Lexington office, our combined groups

can now offer a complete engineering

and science-based package. Everyone

at ECSI is excited about the opportu-

nities this partnership brings.”

SynTerra covers a full range of sci-

entific disciplines in conjunction with

process, civil, mining and geotechnical

engineering. SynTerra provides services

to the electric utility, forest products,

mining and minerals processing, man-

ufacturing, site development, chemi-

cals, and government market sectors.

690-MT Rock Crusher MovedMammoet moved a 690-metric-ton

(mt) granite rock crusher and primary

conveyor inside the A.R. Wilson Quar-

ry in Aromas, California. Both pieces

needed to be relocated from the top

of the quarry to the new location

downhill and 1,200 meters (m) away.

Owner Graniterock previously

attempted to drive the rock crusher,

Mammoet reported. The crusher ex-

perienced a loss of braking power and

the operation could not be completed

safely. Mammoet proposed to move

the crusher in one piece on SPMTs

and received the contract.

Whether operating remotely or on board the drill, Epiroc says the RCS 5’s intuitive menu creates a user-friendly experience that increases productivity.



suppliers news continued

The route included an intermit-

tent 8%-10% grade and, after several

days of rain, mud. The 152-m primary

conveyor, broken down into four sec-

tions, went first. The rock crusher fol-

lowed, with a total travel time of less

than two hours. The entire operation

was completed on schedule and with

zero incidents, despite the weather,

Mammoet reported.

The crusher was active until just

hours before the move, which signifi-

cantly reduced downtime.

The quarry dates back to 1900.

With the crusher moved, another 100

years of operation is expected.

New Drives Enhanced Control for DC InstallationsABB’s new series of DC variable speed

drives (VSDs) allow users with a large

installed base to get better perfor-

mance from their existing systems.

With the new DCS880 VSDs, miners

who are heavily invested in a DC sys-

tem have the option to continue us-

ing DC technology while better align-

ing with modern AC advancements.

The DC VSDs are built on ABB’s

all-compatible, common-drive plat-

form, sharing the same control pan-

el, features and tools as recent- and

future-generation ABB drives. Once

users have learned one ABB all-com-

patible drive, they can easily use other

all-compatible drives — both DC and

AC, according to the system developer.

They also integrate with ABB’s Abil-

ity monitoring services — a digital of-

fering, which provides real-time data

about drive status and performance

from any location. Monitoring param-

eters include drive availability, envi-

ronmental conditions and fault events.

Optimized for safety, simplicity,

and user-friendliness, the drives fea-

ture built-in functions, such as safe

torque off (STO), which prevents un-

expected startup of machinery. This

protects people and equipment by

reducing risk during operation.

DCS880 drives have the flexibility

to meet the precise needs of a broad

range of industrial environments

and applications with superior speed

and torque control in a compact,

space-saving design that easily fits

into electrical control rooms. They

can handle advanced programming

with standard IEC languages and in-

clude many ready-made, dedicated

application programs.

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product news

Screen Data Gives Insight

into Circuit Performance

Performance data provided by extra sensors fitted to a pro-

totype vibrating screen is substantially improving the un-

derstanding of screen operation. It is also giving indicators

around the overall performance of the processing cycle.

Designed and developed in Australia by Schenck Pro-

cess, the prototype screen is undergoing site trials. The com-

pany believes this new screen has the potential to change

the way vibrating screens are developed and operated.

The standard condition-monitoring system comprises

two sensor nodes, including six degrees of freedom MEMS

accelerometers, a high-resolution accelerometer and a

temperature probe. On the prototype screen, four addi-

tional sensors have been fitted, one on each corner.

“The measurement regime for the additional sensors

includes spring amplitude and mean compression, allow-

ing the estimation of tonnage and load bias (to determine if

the feed is presented square to the screen or favoring a side)

and the determination of spring operating characteristics

and cumulative fatigue damage,” said Schenck Process’ se-

nior R&D engineer, Doug Teyhan. “We are also looking into

the development of a predictive failure program to improve

overall productivity and efficiency and significantly reduce

the possibility of unplanned downtime.”

Historically, failure prediction has been determined by

running components to the point of failure and assessing

a mean time to failure based on a known operating history.

The data generated by the prototype screen is utilized to

estimate the operating stress of the screen at the most ag-

gressive fatigue areas and assessing the cumulative dam-

age of those areas based on the measurement of non-ideal

operating characteristics.

Using a Cumulative Damage System, which counts

machine cycles and also trend characteristics that have

the potential to adversely affect vital component life ex-

pectation, the plan is to make the machine monitoring

system a lead measure in predicting the potential for

component failure.

The expanded monitoring system will also provide in-

put into machine development of the next generation of

vibrating screens by filling in the unknowns in the design

process with real-time field data.

According to Teyhan, the benefits for the customer

— including increased availability and improved screen

performance — are substantial and have the potential to

initiate improvements in the processing cycle.

“And from a screen operation point of view the addi-

tional data is bringing to light characteristics not previ-

ously known. It is highlighting transient feed characteris-

tics — not visible using traditional condition monitoring

techniques — that impact the loading of the screen and

affect machine life expectation,” he said.

“We also believe there are potential industry-wide bene-

fits, through new design parameters and possible changes to

machine construction techniques and materials,” he added.

To optimize the greater range and scope of data the

screen is generating, the company is collaboratively inves-

tigating and assessing other performance variables. The

potential is for control of the variability in the feed rate,

more consistent performance and improved overall effi-

ciency of the cycle.

www.schenckprocess.com

Improved Haul Truck TiresAfter six years of development and

testing, Michelin North America re-

cently introduced the XDR3 surface-

mine haul tire in size 27.00R49. Ad-

dressing the productivity and endur-

ance issues found in today’s surface

mines, the XDR3 — developed for a

range of rigid dump trucks with pay-

load capacity up to 400 tons — is designed with new com-

pounds and a revolutionary new tread pattern that helps

provide exceptional tire life. The use of corrosion-isolating

cables in the tire architecture is a significant upgrade in

situations where this equipment is always moving as it is

operated for up to 23 hours per day in extreme terrain.

These innovations allow customers to select the bene-

fit that best fits their needs. Customers can choose not to

According to Schenck Process, this new screen has the potential to change the way vibrating screens are developed and operated.


https://www.schenckprocess.com/


product news continued

increase speed or load and expect a 10% increase in tire

life. Or customers could choose either to increase speed by

10% or increase load by 10% and achieve the same tire life

as the previous generation. This flexibility allows Michelin

to better support customer needs and goals.

“Michelin’s most popular tire has been tested on mul-

tiple truck brands and is designed for punishing environ-

ments where the goal is safety and performance,” said Jake

Thompson, Michelin North America’s B2B mining mar-

keting manager. “Michelin responds to customer needs

by providing long-lasting, innovative products that solve

their most-demanding business challenges in the specific

environments where they operate.”

The XDR3 was designed with operator safety in mind.

Compared to similar Michelin haul truck tires, the tread

pattern better distributes the load across the contact patch,

lowers contact pressure and reduces wear rates. In addi-

tion, the tread pattern is designed for better endurance

thanks to revolutionary heat dissipation. This helps to pre-

vent tire overheating, which can result in tire failure, and in

turn, jeopardize operator safety. The XDR3 is MEMS-ready

and helps reduce rim slip through a new flat-bead wire,

which is designed to strengthen the clamping force on the

wheel and increase its contact surface with the rim.

www.michelinearthmover.com

Safety System for HoistsThe Cage Guardian Safety Brake for steel guides better

protects both underground mine workers and cage com-

ponents. The innovative safety brake, which runs on steel

guides, uses mechanical systems to prevent the worst-

case scenario in the event of slack-rope or a rope break

event. According to FLSmidth, it is built to withstand even

the toughest underground mine environments and meets

the most stringent regulations for safety catches.

The system is strictly mechanical — no hydraulics,

pneumatics or electricity — for fail-safe operation, even on

wet or contaminated guides. Actuation and operation is per-

formed by redundant mechanical systems, only requiring a

slack-rope or rope break event to bring the cage to a safe

stop. With average deceleration rates of 0.9 g to 2 g (9 to 20

m/s/s or 29.5 to 65.6 ft/s/s), the Cage Guardian Safety Brake

has a lower jerk rate and provides smoother deceleration.

The safety brake system also allows for easy retrieval

of the cage after an event. Unlike conventional safety dogs

for wood guides, the Cage Guardian Safety Brake inflicts

minimal damage to any cage or guide components. This

results in faster redeployment of the cage. While timber

guides must be replaced when a safety catch event occurs,

the Cage Guardian Safety Brake decelerates on steel guides

while using a self-contained brake path. This puts less strain

on the shaft guides. As a result, neither the safety brake nor

the steel guides suffer ill effects from a safety catch event.

“As wood guides become

increasingly less desirable

from both environmental

and economic perspectives,

the use of steel guides be-

comes ever more attractive

and the Cage Guardian opens

up a new world of opportu-

nities for the safe transport

of personnel underground,”

said Henry Laarakker, a prod-

uct manager at FLSmidth.

“It also allows for a fully en-

gineered safety solution, inspiring a high degree of confi-

dence without reliance on the variability of nature inher-

ent with wood guides.”

Superior design, ease of maintenance, and proven test-

ed results give users total confidence that the Cage Guard-

ian Safety Brake will enhance the safety of their operation.

Every system is completely factory tested and calibrated for

the mine-specific application. Each system is also free-fall

tested and results are documented with a certified test cer-

tificate. Additionally, the design of the safety brake system

enables easy ongoing maintenance and regular testing.

https://flsmidth.io/Cage-Guardian-pr

STATUS SCREEN For faster diagnostics - Available Q3

WATER LINE FILTER

IN-CAB DIRECTIONAL DISPLAY Visual alert for operator

Phone: 812.490.1525

[email protected]

ACCESSORIES to help make your CM safer and more efficient!

Reduces system interference

POWER LINE FILTER Reduces system interference & nuisance trips

10Celebrating

years of IntelliZone

technological innovations


https://www.michelinearthmover.com/

https://flsmidth.io/Cage-Guardian-pr


https://www.MatrixTeam.com/


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ADVERTISING INDEX......................................................................................................................................PAGE

Bluefield Coal Show ......................................................................... 23

ERIEZ – Mineral Flotation Group ...................................................... 35

Jennmar Corp.................................................................................. IBC

Matrix .............................................................................................. 37

Mining Media Int’l - Mining Magazines .............................................. 3

Mining Media Int’l - Social Media..................................................... 33

Precision Pulley & Idler (PPI) ............................................................BC

SEMCO Publishing - Resource Center ............................................... 19

Somerset Coal Int’l.......................................................................... IFC

Voith Turbo GmbH & Co KG ............................................................... 21

World Mining Equipment (WME) ....................................................... 39

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legally speaking

Judge’s Ruling May Halt Federal Leases by ali nelson

Yet another effort

by President Don-

ald Trump’s ad-

ministration to

roll back former-

President Barack

Obama-era policy

changes impacting

the coal industry has been overturned

by the courts. The late-April decision

by Judge Brian Morris in Citizens for

Clean Energy v. Department of the In-

terior (DOI) in the U.S. District Court

for the District of Montana may yet

again bring new coal leases on fed-

eral lands to a standstill, pending re-

view by the DOI of the environmental

impacts of the coal leasing program

administered by the Department’s

Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

On January 15, 2016, Secretary of

the Interior Sally Jewell issued Order

No. 3338 (the Jewell Order) directing

BLM to prepare a Programmatic Envi-

ronmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to

analyze potential reforms to the federal

coal leasing program. That order raised

concerns with the program about fair

return, climate change and market

conditions. The order also instituted a

“pause” on leasing — no new applica-

tions for coal leases or lease modifica-

tions would be processed until com-

pletion of the programmatic review.

Fourteen months later, on March

28, 2017, Trump issued an executive

order directing former DOI Secretary

Ryan Zinke to “take all steps necessary

and appropriate to amend or with-

draw” the Jewell Order. Secretary Zinke

issued his own order the next day (the

Zinke Order), declaring that “the public

interest is not served by halting the fed-

eral coal program for an extended time,

nor is a PEIS required to consider po-

tential improvements to the program,”

revoking the Jewell Order, and ordering

BLM to resume processing coal lease

applications and modifications.

Numerous environmental organi-

zations and the attorneys general for

several states challenged the Zinke

Order in federal court, requesting the

court find that the department had

violated the National Environmental

Protection Act (NEPA) by issuing it

without first completing the required

environmental analysis.

NEPA requires federal agencies to

perform an environmental analysis

before taking “any major federal ac-

tions significantly affecting the quality

of the human environment.” Although

the defendants argued the Zinke Or-

der was a policy shift and return to

the status quo, not a major federal ac-

tion requiring NEPA review, the court

found that lifting the moratorium met

the “relatively low” threshold standard

for a NEPA-triggering event. The court

also found the Zinke Order met the re-

quirements for “final agency action”

because the decision to recommence

coal leasing applications was the “con-

summation” of decision-making on

the moratorium and had the legal con-

sequence of lifting the environmental

protections that were in place pending

preparation of a new PEIS. The court

cited precedent establishing that a “de-

cision not to prepare an EIS or consult

NEPA can itself be final agency action.”

What’s Next?The court did not enter an order com-

pelling the department to prepare a

PEIS. It simply ordered the defendants

to “initiate the NEPA process,” explain-

ing that “the decision of whether an EIS

proves necessary pursuant to the agen-

cy’s action ‘is a matter of action left to

the agency’s discretion.’” While an EIS

would satisfy the requirements of NEPA,

the court noted that the department

could also determine that no EIS is

needed and supply a “convincing state-

ment of reasons” to explain why the

impacts of its order would be insignifi-

cant and prepare an environmental as-

sessment instead. However, the court’s

observation the defendants “have failed

to take even the initial step of determin-

ing the extent of environmental analysis

that the Zinke Order requires” makes it

clear the department will need to con-

sider NEPA before taking further action

to undo the process set in to motion by

the previous administration.

In addition, the court did not re-

store the moratorium on federal leases

pending completion of the NEPA pro-

cess. Rather, the court held that “per-

manent injunction is not an automatic

remedy in a NEPA case,” and found

that the plaintiffs had failed to address

the factors for permanent injunc-

tive relief. It then directed the parties’

counsel to confer in good faith and ei-

ther submit a joint proposal regarding

any agreed remedies or submit addi-

tional briefing on the factors support-

ing a permanent injunction. It seems

unlikely the department will agree to

an injunction on federal leasing while

the NEPA process is under way, so

whether leasing is allowed to continue

will likely be decided by the court.

This isn’t the first NEPA case that

has slowed the current administra-

tion’s progress, but the administration

is continuing to work to make it one

of the last. Trump issued an executive

order on August 25, 2017, directing

the Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ) to modernize the environmen-

tal review process. CEQ published an

advance notice of proposed rulemak-

ing last summer seeking comment on

possible updates to the NEPA regula-

tion, which may include narrowing

what constitutes a “major federal proj-

ect” that would trigger the NEPA pro-

cess and by expanding the categorical

exclusions from its requirements.

Ali Nelson is senior counsel with

Husch Blackwell. She can be reached at

[email protected].



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