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OCTOBER 2020 VOL. 125 NO. 8 NEWS/4 PREP PLANT CENSUS/15 feature articles 15 2020 US Prep Plant Census Total plant population shrinks with consolidation and reclamation 26 Mobilizing the Massive Two new trailers can routinely haul huge shovels and drills, at a clip, using fewer people leading developments EQUIPMENT TRANSPORT/26 SUPPLIERS NEWS/36 4 Court Upholds Decision Blocking Peabody, Arch Joint Venture 4 Black Hills Receives Approval for Power Purchase Agreement 5 Robert Murray Retires From ACNR 5 Olive Downs Coking Coal Project Receives Mining Leases 5 Mechel Conducts Sweeping Repairs of Wash Plants u.s. news 6 American Resources Expands Workforce at Perry County to Restart Complex 6 Cleveland-Cliffs Acquires ArcelorMittal USA thisThis month, Coal Age reports issue on coal preparation activities in its U.S. Prep Plant Census. 6 MG Capital Presses for Change With Contura Energy 10 Brouillette Tours Lambert’s Point Coal Terminal 11 CONSOL Executes Several Value-enhancing Transactions departments 2 Editorial worldwide news 4 Leading Developments 8 Thiess Secures $79M Caval Ridge Extension 6 U.S. News 8 Worldwide News 8 China Orders Stoppage to Imports of 10 Dateline Washington Australian Coal 11 People 8 Coal India Firms Up Investments to Achieve 12 Developments to Watch 1B Ton Production Target 13 Calendar 13 Mitsui & Co Will Sell Stakes in Coal-fired 35 Operating Ideas Plants by 2030 36 Suppliers News 13 KEPCO Will Take Part in Coal-fired Power 38 Product News Plant Project in Vietnam 39 Classifieds 40 Legally Speaking October 2020 www.coalage.com 1 editor’s note Forecasts Call for Increased Coal Production in 2021 www.coalage.com t this point, everyone would like to put 2020 be- Mining Media International, Inc. hind them, especially those who work in the ener- A 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306 gy industry. The precipitous drop in electrical demand Jacksonville, Florida 32224 U.S.A. during the first half of 2020 wreaked havoc for energy Phone: +1.904.721.2925 Fax: +1.904.721.2930 markets, especially the coal business. In 2019, coal pro- duction in the U.S. totaled 706 million tons, which was Editorial a 7% decrease from 2018. That was the lowest amount Publisher & Editor-in-Chief—Steve Fiscor, [email protected] of coal produced in the United States since the late Associate Editor—Jennifer Jensen, [email protected] Technical Writer—Jesse Morton, [email protected] 1970s. Weekly coal production figures from the U.S. En- Contributing Editor—Russ Carter, [email protected] BY STEVE FISCOR ergy Information Administration (EIA, see p. 7) indicate European Editor—Carly Leonida, [email protected] PUBLISHER & the U.S. will post an even greater decline (25%) by year Latin American Editor—Oscar Martinez, [email protected] EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Graphic Designer—Tad Seabrook, [email protected] end, a level not seen since the 1960s. Still, there is good news for U.S. coal operators on the horizon. For 2021, Sales EIA’s forecast for the natural gas share of electricity generation declines to Midwest/Eastern U.S. & Canada, Sales—Craig Scharf, [email protected] 34% in response to higher natural gas prices. The agency is predicting that Western U.S., Canada & Australia—Frank Strazzulla, [email protected] coal’s share of electricity generation will grow from 20% in 2020 to 24% Scandinavia, UK and European Sales—Colm Barry, [email protected] Germany, Austria & Switzerland Sales—Gerd Strasmann, [email protected] in 2021, which is where it stood in 2019. If everything remains the same, Japan Sales—Masao Ishiguro, [email protected] meaning the U.S. continues to subsidize it, energy from renewable sources General Manager-Operations—Dan Fitts, [email protected] will rise from 20% in 2020 to 22% in 2021. The EIA expects coal production Marketing Manager—Misty Valverde, [email protected] to climb to 625 million tons in 2021, a 19% increase over 2020. Other posi- tive factors could also impact the market, like improving met markets and the thermal export market. European coal demand grew this summer and so did prices for coal exports to northwestern Europe. It hasn’t been widely reported, but prices have rebounded from less than $40/ton to nearly $60/ton. Euro- pean power plants began to burn more coal this summer when natural gas prices started to increase. Another factor affecting this market is the Coal Age, Volume 125, Issue 8, (ISSN 1040-7820) is published monthly ex- cept January and July, by Mining Media International, Inc., 11655 Central large coal export facilities in Colombia. A strike has limited coal exports Parkway, Suite 306, Jacksonville, Florida 32224 (mining-media.com). Pe- from the El Cerrejon mine, and two Prodeco operations have been idled riodicals postage paid at Jacksonville, FL, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 41450540. Canada return since March. If the price were to climb above $65/ton, U.S. coal operators address: PO Box 2600, Mississauga ON L4T 0A8, Email: subscriptions@ could start exporting more coal to Europe. coalage.com. Current and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms and an editorial calendar, are available online Surprisingly, the price into Europe is currently higher than the price of at www.coalage.com. thermal coal exports from Australia into China. Several news outlets re- SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled circulation to qualified subscribers. ported that Chinese customs authorities have told several Chinese state- Visit www.coalage.com to subscribe. Non-qualified persons may subscribe at owned steelmakers and power plants to stop importing Australian coal the following rates: US domestic addresses a 10 issue subscription, $75.00 USD, All addresses outside the USA a 10 issue subscription $125.00 USD. For (See p. 8). Tensions have been on the rise between the two countries. In subscriber services or to order single copies, contact Coal Age, c/o Stamats Data Management, 615 Fifth Street SE, Cedar Rapids IA 52401, 1-800-553- addition to thermal and metallurgical-grade coals, Australian exports sig- 8878 ext. 5028 or email [email protected]. nificant amounts of iron ore and other commodities to China. They will ARCHIVES AND MICROFORM: This magazine is available for research and work out their differences and the market will tighten. retrieval of selected archived articles from Proquest. For microform avail- As the world shakes off the COVID-19 funk, power demand will steadily ability, contact ProQuest at 800-521-0600 or +1.734.761.4700, or search the Serials in Microform listings at www.proquest.com. increase as manufacturing returns, and business should improve for coal companies in 2021. Enjoy this edition of Coal Age. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Coal Age, 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306, Jacksonville, FL 32224-2659. REPRINTS: Mining Media International, Inc., 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306, Jacksonville, FL 32224 USA; phone: +1.904.721.2925, fax: +1.904.721.2930, www.mining-media.com PHOTOCOPIES: Authorization to photocopy articles for internal corporate, Steve Fiscor, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief personal, or instructional use may be obtained from the Copyright Clear- [email protected] ance Center (CCC) at +1.978.750.8400. Obtain further information at www.copyright.com. COPYRIGHT 2020: Coal Age, incorporating Coal and Coal Mining & Processing. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 2 www.coalage.com May 2016 leading developments Court Upholds Decision Blocking Peabody, Arch Joint Venture with the West Elk and Twentymile mines in Colorado. Ownership of the joint ven- ture would have been structured with Peabody owning 66.5% and Arch own- ing 33.5%. The joint venture was expect- ed to realize annual synergies of $120 million over an initial 10-year period. Black Hills Receives Approval for Power Purchase Agreement Black Hills Corp. announced that utility subsidiary Cheyenne Light, Fuel and The joint venture would have included each company’s Powder River Basin and Colorado assets, Power Co., doing business as Black Hills such as Peabody’s North Antelope Rochelle mine (above). (Photo: Peabody Energy) Energy, and power generation sub- sidiary Black Hills Wyoming received The U.S. District Court has concluded Arch and Peabody have agreed to approval of their joint application for its review of the joint venture com- discontinue legal efforts, given the a proposed 60-megawatt power pur- bining Peabody Energy’s and Arch Re- significant investment of time, re- chase agreement from the Federal En- sources’ Power River Basin (PRB) and sources and expense that would be ergy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Colorado assets and is supporting the required to conduct an appeal. Under the agreement, Black Hills Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) “In the wake of today’s decision, Wyoming will continue to deliver 60 decision to block the formation of the we will be intensifying our pursuit of megawatts of base-load capacity and joint venture. strategic alternatives for our thermal energy to Cheyenne Light from its “We are deeply disappointed with assets, including, among other things, Wygen I power plant. The new agree- the court’s decision as the intense potential divestiture, while evaluating ment will commence on January 1, all-fuels competition is clearly appar- opportunities to shrink the operation- 2022, replacing the existing power ent to us,” Peabody President and CEO al footprint at those mines, reduce purchase agreement, and will contin- Glenn Kellow said. “Our focus now is on their asset retirement obligations, and ue for 11 years, ending December 31, continuing to be the low-cost PRB coal establish self-funding mechanisms to 2032. The Wygen I power plant is lo- provider to best compete against natu- address those long-term liabilities,” cated near Gillette in northeast Wyo- ral gas and subsidized renewables.” Arch CEO Paul A.