Global coal consumption will jump nearly 65 percent by 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).  EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2008 predicts that world coal consumption will increase from 123 quadrillion Btu in 2005 to 202 quadrillion Btu in 2030 at an average annual growth rate of 2 percent.  In North America, EIA predicts coal consumption will grow from approximately 25 quadrillion Btus in 2005 to nearly 33 quadrillion Btus in 2030.  EIA predicted that Chinese coal consumption will more than double, jumping from nearly 47 quadrillion Btus in 2005 to approximately 103 quadrillion in 2030.   China accounts for 71 percent of the predicted increase in world coal consumption, while the U.S. and India will each account for 9 percent of the projected world increase.  EIA predicts an upswing in the production of alternative fuels, including coal-to-liquid fuels.  By 2030, EIA projects production of various alternative fuels will total nearly 10 million barrels per day, up from the current production level of 2.5 million barrels a day.  A copy of the report is available at EIA report.

Peabody Energy’s Viking and Francisco mines in Indiana have earned Peabody President’s Awards for operating the company’s safest surface and underground mines in 2007.  Viking Mining reported a perfect record of zero incidents.  Through the first quarter of 2008, employees at Viking Mine had gone four years without a reportable incident. The mine has more than 140 employees and shipped 1.7 million tons of coal in 2007.  Employees at Francisco underground mine reduced their incident rate by half over the past three consecutive years to achieve a 1.09 rate, which was 84 percent better than the 2007 national average for underground coal mines.  Francisco has more than 120employeees and shipped approximately 900,000 tons of coal in 2007.

Taggart Global USA, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA, and Ausenco Limited have formed a joint venture to pursue coal preparation plant engineering opportunities worldwide, with the exception of North America and China, which will target a project pipeline in excess of $10 billion.  Taggart is one of the world’s leading engineering firms with experience in the global delivery of coal preparation plant design, engineering and project management.  The joint venture will initially run for five  years and brings together two of the global leaders in engineering project and construction management for the resources industry.  Already being discussed are projects in Sub-Sahara Africa, Vietnam, Mongolia and Indonesia.  The global pool of committed and targeted project expenditure specifically targeted is between $10 and $15 billion over the next four to five years.

Presidential candidate Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, states that coal producers and users would benefit under his energy plan from about $30 billion of government funding for clean-coal technology research.  He is also pushing for construction of 45 new nuclear power plants.  McCain said his plan seeks to give American companies “new incentives and rewards to seek, instead of just giving new taxes to pay and new orders to follow.”  The goal, he said, is to pursue multiple options in an effort to balance long-term energy production, short-term price remedies, and environmental protection. McCain’s plan is to spend $2 billion a year through 2024 in taxpayer support for research and development of clean-coal technologies.  

AEP River Operations, Chesterfield, MO, has acquired several assets of the Erlbacher Cape Girardeau-based river business – Missouri Barge Line Company and Cape Giradeau Fleeting, Inc.  The Erlbacher drydock facilities will remain at their current locations along the Mississippi River.  Missouri Drydock and Repair Company was not included in t he transaction.  

A report by BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2008 found that coal was the fastest growing source of energy in 2007, with global consumption increasing 4.5 percent.  The report noted that coal accounts for 50 percent of the increase in global primary energy consumption, adding that global and coal demand is being driven in large part by developing countries, particularly China.  A copy of the report is available at BP Report.

Sen. John McCain has called for the construction of 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030 and pledged $2 billion a year in federal funds “to make clean coal a reality,” measures designed to reduce dependence on foreign oil.  McCain said the 104 nuclear reactors currently operating around the country produce about 20 percent of the nation’s annual electricity needs.

Massey Energy Company, Charleston, WV, announces that its Logan County Mine Services subsidiary has won the company’s Green Miner Award for 2007, in recognition of its commitment to environmental excellence.  The company implemented an environmental program that reclaimed hundreds of acres, planted 354,000 trees and received two awards in West Virginia for exemplary mine reclamation and two nominations for national reclamation awards.  In addition to the Green Miner Award, Best of Class awards were made to Logan County Mine Services’ Highland Surface Mine for Best Surface Mine, Marfork Coal Company’s Allen Powellton Deep Mine for Best Underground Mine and Marfork Coal Company for Best Preparation Plant.  Logan County Mine Service also received the Most Improved Operation Award.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration has hired more than 300 inspectors over the past two years to inspect the nation’s underground coal operations for unsafe working conditions.  MSHA chief Richard Stickler said the agency has 750 inspectors with the 322 new hires.  However, because of resignations and retirements, the new hires represent a net increase of 163 inspectors.  Stickler said he has embarked on a plan to ensure inspectors complete required visits to every coal mine in the nation, aided by $10 million earmarked for overtime pay this year.

Dominion Power has the go-ahead to build a $1.8 billion, 585-megawatt power plant in Virginia.  Dominion promised to burn only Virginia coal at the new plant.  The plant will be built in Wise County.

The Illinois Basin is forecast to experience a tremendous resurgence of interest similar to that of the 1970s, due to developing scrubber and export market and renewed interest in coal gasification and coal-to-liquids, according to Hill & Associates (H&A).  The Basin’s production is poised to expand more than two-fold in the next ten years.  Existing producers are all planning expansions and many newcomers are entering the market with plans to develop a multitude of mines.  Basin production is expected to expand to 103-104 mmt in 2008, and by more than 250 mmt by 2017 with a potential to produce more than 350 mmt.

Peabody Energy has commissioned the new El Segundo Mine in northwest New Mexico, which is ramping up to produce 6 million tons of coal per year.  The mine will serve a 19-year, 65-million-ton coal supply agreement for Arizona Public Service Company’s Cholla Generating Station near Joseph City, AZ. as well as the Tucson Electric Power Company’s Springerville Generating Station in Springerville, a contract that runs to 2020.  Peabody has invested some $70 million to develop El Segundo, located adjacent to Peabody’s Lee Ranch Mine.

New York has offered $6 million in support of a coal-fired power demonstration plant in Jamestown that will be the first of its kind in the world.  The plant would burn coal in pure oxygen instead of air, a process that virtually eliminates harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides, sulfur compounds and mercury.  The plant will serve as demonstration facility for the new technology, which is favored by companies in Japan, Canada and Germany where pilot plants are under construction.  Following research by the Oxy-Coal Alliance, the group will apply for a federal grant to continue research and development of the proposed Jamestown power plant.

Rajant Corporation, Malvern, PA, has entered into a partnership agreement with Carlson Software to provide productivity solutions for the mining and construction industries.  The partnership combines Carlson’s suite of civil, surveying, mining, construction, machine-control, GPS and positioning software applications over Rajant BreadCrumb wireless mesh networks.  Carlson solutions work with the ÅutoCAD engine and as add-on software to ÅutoCAD and ÅutoCad Map. Rajant wireless mesh networks are deployed worldwide.

Kentucky-based Quest Minerals & Mining Corp. announce that its contract mining group, Whitestar Mining, LLC, is making final maintenance and equipment repairs as it prepares to mine its Pond Creek location, held under its wholly owned subsidiary Gwenco, Inc.  Production goals are expected to reach 1,200 to 1,500 tons per day.

Westmoreland Coal Company, Colorado Springs, Co., had completed a debt refinancing of its wholly owned subsidiary, Westmoreland Mining LLC, which encompasses the operation of the Beulah, Jewett, Rosebud, and Savage mines.  The $125 million term loan and $25 million revolving line of credit will be used to pay-off existing Westmoreland Mining LLC debt, allow a one-time dividend to Westmoreland Coal Company, and provide adequate liquidity to meet the currently expected needs of the existing Westmoreland Mining LLC operations.

In the past five months, spot prices for U.S. coal have surged from about $55 a ton to more than $100.  The booming international market means demand for U.S. coal may reach a record 1.22 billion tons in 2008.  Coal industry analyst David Khani of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group has raised his 2009 price forecast for metallurgical coal to $250 a ton from $130.  Producers are ramping up production of metallurgical coal, but supplies will remain tight through next year amid stronger-than-expected demand for steel, the analyst adds.  This year, supply contracts at Walter Industries range from $135 a ton to more than $315 a ton for an average of $209 a ton, up from an average of $101 a ton last year.

Abascus Mining & Exploration Corp., Vancouver, BC, has retained the services of AMEC Americas to build an updated mineral resource model and carry out the needed engineering work to advance the Afton-Ajax Project located near Kamloops, BC, through a Preliminary Economic Assessment.

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOÅ) seeking multiple projects DOE could invest in to help accelerate construction of commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) or other clean coal power plants that utilize cutting-edge carbon capture and storage technology.  The FOA is part of DOE’s restructured approach to the FutureGen project.  DOE said it anticipates that $290 million will be available to fund selected projects through fiscal year 2009 with an additional $1.01 billion expected to be available in future years, subject to appropriations by Congress.

Wellington Development LLC has gained approval from the Pennsylvania Department

 of Environmental Protection for an air quality plan of a proposed waste coal-fired power plant in Green County, PA.  The 525-megawatt plant in Cumberland Township has been in the works for three years. Wellington has not started construction on the plant at the old LTV Steel site along the Monongahela River. The plant would be fueled by 3.1 million tons of waste coal annually from the Nemacolin, Isabella, Daisytown and Hawkins coal refuse piles in Washington, Fayette and Greene counties.

Sturtevant Inc., Hanover, MA, has a representative agreement with Dynamic Bulk Systems, Inc. (DBS), Fenton, MO. The agreement will increase Sturtevant’s coverage of the company’s manufactured custom size-reduction and air classification equipment for material-processing applications for southern Illinois, eastern Missouri and western Kentucky.   DBS offers a full line of equipment for dry bulk material handling/processing, air pollution control, air movement & accessories and level measurement.

Dyno Nobel, Salt Lake City, UT, has been acquired by Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL).  Dyno Nobel will operate as a discrete explosives business within IPL, and the brand will be retained along with all products and associated trades names.

America West Resources, Salt Lake City, UT, has entered into a coal mining lease and option to purchase agreement with C&P Coal Resources LLC for an undeveloped leasehold known as the “Columbia” property covering approximately 5,200 acres in Carbon County, Utah – near where America West is currently mining thermal coal from its Horizon Mine.  Reports are that the Columbia property is estimated to have approximately 50 million tons of raw, recoverable, metallurgical grade coal reserves in place.

Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), Shreveport, LA, a unit of AEP, has been approved to construct a 600-megawatt coal-fueled power plant in Hempstead County in southwest Arkansas. SWEPCO is awaiting an air permit before construction can begin.  Estimated cost of the plant is approximately $1.52 billion with SWEPCO investing 74 percent of the total.  SWEPCO will own 440 megawatts of the plant’s capacity. Construction will take about 48 months and is expected to begin commercial operation in late 2012.

Michelin and China Coal Pingshuo, China’s largest surface coal mine, has signed a three-year renewable contract for Michelin to provide and maintain 53/80R63-size tires for the Komatsu 930E trucks that it operates in the mine.  Goal of the service contact is to optimize conditions of use for the 63-inch XKD1 tires fitted on vehicles operated in the mine.  Specialized Michelin technicians, in cooperation with teams from China Coal Pingshuo, will manage the service shop, where tires will be mounted, dismounted and repaired, tire pressure will be checked and maintained at the right level, and other operations will be carried out to ensure that tires are used in the best possible conditions.