Xstrata’s Beltana Highwall Mine in Australia’s Hunter Valley set the Australian annual production record with 8,408,038 tons in 2007.  The mine operates two Bucyrus EL3000 shearers each equipped with 2x850 kW cutter motors and 2x125 kW haulage motors.  Operating two shearers allows one to be overhauled at the Bucyrus Hunter Valley facility while the other is in constant operation on the 3-meter seam which has reserves of some 40 million tons.  High availability of the shearer was a key factor in achieving the record.  Since the Beltana longwall commenced operation in June 2003 until December 2007 the two Bucyrus EL3000 shearers have produced over 28 million tons.

Rulmeca (Tianjin) Co. Ltd is having a grand opening ceremony at its new facility May 21 at Saida International Industrial Park, Tianjin, China.  Emilo Moreschi, group president of Rulli Rulmeca SpA, will give the welcoming speech, followed by a series of welcoming talks by prominent associates.  A tour of the factory facilities will follow, and close with lunch.

Comdek of Perth, Australia, has acquired Energy Investments of Tasmania, by issuing 28,500,000 shares valued at A$4.27 million.  Drilling at the Woodbury and Latrobe Coal project in central Tasmania shows from 12 to 22 million tons of thermal coal, but Comdek expects the initial exploration will show from 100 to 160 Mt.  Comdek has started exploration

Aviva Corporation of Perth announces an initial resource estimate of 1.287 billion tons of coal at its Mmamantswe Coal Project in Botswana, doubling the original estimate of 600 million tons.  Aviva is exploring the possibility of a 1500Mw power station.

Global Steel Holdings, Calcutta, India, has acquired two blocs for coal mining in Mozambique for $116 million, covering an area of 30,000 hectares with proven reserves of 70 million tons of coal.  The blocs are located in Tete Province, near the mining areas of ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel and Vale.

ARM Coal, in a joint venture with Xstrata in South Africa, will begin producing coal at its Goedgevonden coal mine in 2009 with an initial output of a million tons a year, half of which will  be sold to Eskom.  When in full production in 2011, the company will produce 6.7 million tons a year.

The University of Queensland and RWTH Aachen University of Germany have formed a co-op agreement to study the best way to exploit deep coal resources for coal bed methane.  The agreement was signed by a delegation from the state of North Rhine-Westfalia (NRW).  NRW has existing underground coal mines at depths beyond 1000m and has a history of technological expertise in geological assessment and development of deep coal.  Also, joint projects will be expanded to include collaborative investigations of carbon dioxide geosequestration into coal seams in Europe.

Sandvik Mining and Construction is undergoing a workshop revamping with consolidation of its facility at Newcastle, a new facility in Mount Isa and plans for new customer service centers in Mackay, Kalgoorlie, Burnie, Cobar and Perth.  The facilities are expected to be implemented over the next two to three years. Mount Isa is expected to open by mid-2008.  The new premises measure 1500 square meters of workshop and service bay, 1200 square meters of warehouse and 550 square meters of administration and sales office.

Construction of the $7.1 billion Ningde nuclear power plant in Fujian province is underway.  The first phase of the project comprises the construction of four nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, and is expected to be put into commercial use at the end of 2012.  Once completed, the four reactors will generate 30 billion kWh of electricity a year, it is reported. In addition to the Ningde project, other nuclear power stations are planned for Fujian.  China National Nuclear Corp. has planned six 1,000 MW reactors for its Fuqing project in the province.  The 11 nuclear reactors currently in operation have a combined capacity of about 8,000 MW and last year generated 62.86 billion kWh.

OAO Severstal plans significant investments in Northern Russia, developing the Vorkutaugol mines.  The project includes technical equipment for the Severnaya, Zapolyarnana and Vorgashorskaya mines and an equipment upgrade at the Pechorskaya Central Coal Preparation Plant. The mines at Vorkutaugol provide coking coal to Cherepovets Iron and Steel.

ANGLO American is targeting coal as a key part of its global expansion pipeline in which projects costing $12bn are under development.  An additional $29bn worth of projects are under consideration, the company reports.  Anglo’s plans are to increase the group’s South African coal production by 50 percent to some 90 million tons a year by 2015.

Centennial Coal is planning a new longwall mine at its Awaba East site in New South Wales.  If the project is given the go-ahead, feasibility studies will be concluded and development is expected to start in 2010. The mine will become operational in 2012.

Bowen Energy has signed two joint venture agreements with Bhushan Steel of India.  The JV’s cover two coal tenements in Queensland –EPC 1045 and EPCA 1206—and EPCs 1001 (Mt. Cheopra) and 1002 (Kia Ore).  Bowen will allocate $2.4 million to the exploration of the projects.

A unit of Indonesian coal miner PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam Tbk PTBA.JK says it will build a $180 million, 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant in south Sumatra. The subsidiary, PT Bukit Pembangkit, stated that the Banjarsan power plant would boost electricity supply in South Sumatra.

South African Coal Mining Holdings has signed an off take agreement with Eskom to supply its Camden power station near Ermelo with 1.2 million tons of coal a year, from its Umlabu colliery over a period of three years starting in April.

Solid Energy of New Zealand has plans to invest $NZ1.1 billion over the next 10 years, and expects to more than double its total energy production during that period. The expenditure will be split between traditional coal mining businesses and new energy developments from a program that started in 2003. Solid Energy produces more than 130 petajoules of energy each year, earning some $600 million.  This figure is expected to quadruple within a decade.

Bowen Energy and Asia Pacific Coalindo has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly acquire and explore a thermal coal project in Kalimantan, Indonesia.  Bowen will provide exploration technical staff and analyses data and APC will organize local government and solving issues concerning the acquisition of the license.

Whitehaven Coal has formed a joint venture with China’s Upper Horn Investments for its Narrabri coal project in New South Wales.  Upper Horn, a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangdong Yudean Group, will pay $A67.5 million for a 7.5 percent stake in the Narrabri Coal Joint Venture.  Whitehaven received the mining lease for Stage 1 in January of 2008 with production expected to start in the first half of 2009.

China produced 2.52 billion tons of raw coal last year, up 8.2 percent from 2006, according to the China National Coal Association (CNCA).  The output volume increased by 78.3 percent compared to that of 2002, when the volume was at 1.42 billion tons.  The coal output at Shanxi, the country’s largest coal producer, reached 630.21 million tons. Over the past three years, the central government has arranged $1.23 billion in treasury bonds to upgrade safety technologies and equipment at major state-owned coal mines in order to increase output while reducing the number of accidents.  Coal mine accidents killed 3,786 mine workers last year, down 20.2 percent from the previous year, the second consecutive year for the country to report a 20 percent fall in mine accident fatalities.

BHP Billiton will invest $975 million in the Douglas-Middelburg Optimisation (DMO) Project in South Africa for upgrade and expansion of the thermal coal mines.  BHP’s total investments in the country is now $1.4 billion, following approval of its Klipspruit Project.  The DMO project scope includes utilizing reserves across the Douglas and Middelburg Mine Services collieries and development of new mining areas.  First coal from the new mining areas is expected in mid-2008.  The new plant is expected to receive coal in mid-2010, producing 14 million tons a year.  About 90 percent of the power in South Africa is generated by coal-fired power stations.

Phase I of the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal expansion has been completed, extending the port’s capacity to 68 million tons per year, from 59 tons.  The expansion included the addition of a third train inloading facility and conveyor system. Upgrades to the stockyard included three new yard machines.    The next stage will elevate terminal capacity to 85 Mtpa.  The terminal is 38 km south of Mackay and is linked by rail to the Bowen Basin coal mines.

Guohua Electric Power Corp., Shanghai, a subsidiary of China Shenhua Energy, has approval to develop a coal and power generating project in South Sumatra in Indonesia, it is reported.  The project includes a coal mine with annual output of 1.5 million tons and two 150 megawatt generators which are expected to start up in 2010.

State Government of Australia has issued a $A5.4 billion plan to boost coal transportation, encompassing a range of projects that will allow for smooth transportation of coal from mine to port.  Developments in Queensland include new rail links in the northern Bowen and Surat basins, the expansion of the port of Abbot Point to 50-100 million tons a year and a new coal terminal at Wiggins Island in Gladstone, providing up to an extra 85 Mtpa capacity.  Queenslands coal exports are projected to grow by 42 percent to 2010 and a further 40 percent by 2015.

Coal India Ltd expects to spend $2.2 billion over the next five years to increase output as India faces a shortage of 51.1 million tons of coal by 2012.  The company is looking for mines that produce at least 5 million metric tons a year in Australia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique for coking coal and Indonesia and South Africa for thermal coal mines.  Production is expected to rise to 405 million tons next year and 520 million tons by 2011.  India uses coal to fire more than half its 141,080 megawatt electricity generation capacity.  It is reported that the power industry is expected to grow at 9.5 percent annually in the next five years, as the government plans to add 78,755 megawatts.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, has opened a new facility in Adelaide, South Australia, marking a major expansion for the company’s materials and minerals business. The new facility will manufacture cross-belt analyzers, integrated sampling and analysis stations, multi-stream analyzers and belt scales, supporting a range of industries from cement and coal to plastics and paint.