Rio Tinto Agrees to Sell C&A to Yancoal
After receiving a competitive bid from Glencore and a counter offer from Yancoal, Rio Tinto has ultimately decided to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Coal and Allied Industries Ltd. to Yancoal. Rio Tinto said it felt Yancoal Australia Ltd.’s offer of $2.69 million had a higher level of completion certainty. The sale is still contingent on a vote by the company’s shareholders.
The recommendation follows consideration by the board of a revised offer from Glencore plc received on June 23, and a revised offer from Yancoal received on June 25 comprising further improved terms. Yancoal’s most recent offer includes total consideration of $2.69 billion, comprising $2.45 billion in cash payable in full on completion, as well as $240 million via unconditional guaranteed royalty payments of which $200 million will be received before the end of 2018. It also includes an increased break fee amount provided by Yancoal’s parent company, Yankuang, from $100 million to $225 million and the receipt or waiver of all regulatory approvals required to close the transaction.
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Clean Coal Technologies Signs Agreement for Pristine M Plant in Wyoming
Clean Coal Technologies Inc. (CCTI), an emerging cleaner-energy company using technology to convert untreated coal into a cleaner burning and more efficient fuel, announced they have signed a binding agreement with Wyoming New Energy Corp. (WNEC) for the build-out of its first commercial facility in Wyoming.
WNEC has recently entered into an engagement agreement with Piper Jaffray to raise up to $80 million in debt financing to build a 2-million-ton CCTI Pristine M Plant in the Powder River Basin.
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Coal Operator is Fined for Obed Mountain Mine Spill in Canada
Prairie Mines & Royalty ULC (formerly known as Coal Valley Resources Inc.) pleaded guilty in Alberta Provincial Court to two counts of violating the Fisheries Act. Judge C.D. Gardner sentenced the company to pay monetary penalties totaling $3.5 million.
A portion of the fine ($1.15 million) will be placed into a trust to be managed by the University of Alberta to create the Alberta East Slopes Fish Habitat and Native Fish Recovery Research Fund. A total of $2.15 million will be directed to the Environmental Damages Fund.
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NMA Urges Reform of Broken Program for Abandoned Coal Mines
The chief executive of the National Mining Association (NMA) representing the U.S. coal industry recently told a congressional panel that the federal program funded by the coal industry to help clean up old abandoned coal mines has been plagued by an inefficient structure and lax management leading to billions of dollars spent for other purposes.
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MSHA Launches Initiative to Address Injuries
Data recently compiled between October 2015 and March 2017 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration shows that less experienced miners — both at a mine and at a specific occupation — suffer injuries at a higher rate than more experienced miners. Over this 18-month period, miners with one year or less of experience at a mine suffered 903 injuries, compared to 418 for those who had worked at a mine between one and two years. Miners with one year or less job experience suffered 603 injuries, compared to 409 for those with between one and two years job experience.
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Alpha Divests Green Valley
Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) has sold substantially all of the assets of two separate operations, a coal mining complex and a natural gas operation, both located in central West Virginia. The Green Valley mining assets in Nicholas and Greenbrier counties are being sold to Quinwood Coal Co. The divestiture includes the Green Valley No. 1 prep plant and related permits, which have been idle since the second quarter of 2014.
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