S China ports coal prices rise last week

Mar 19, 2011 |en.sxcoal

Coal prices at ports of South China rose in the week from Mar 12 to 18, according to a report published by Qinhuangdao Seaborne Coal Market.

At Guangzhou port, the price of premium mixed coal with heating value of 5000Kcal/kg rose 25 yuan/t or 3.27 percent from last week to 790yuan/t and that of 5500Kcal/kg increased 15 yuna/t to 885 yuan/t, data showed.

And, the price of Shenmu slack with calorific value of 6000Kcal/kg was 955 yuan/t at Ningbo port and that of 6500Kcal/kg was 1200 yuan/t.
The increasing demand for coal from downstream would relieve the slack supply and demand of coal market.

As of Mar 17, Guangzhou port had 2.31 million tonnes coal in stock.

China's Net Coal Imports May Rise to 174 Million Tons, CCB Says

Thu,Mar10,2011 09:04

China, the world's biggest coal consumer and producer, may increase net imports of the fuel to 174 million metric tons this year to cover a supply shortfall, CCB International Securities Ltd. said in a research note.

The nation may purchase as much as 230 million tons of coal each year between 2011 and 2015 as domestic output growth lags behind demand, CCB analysts led by Karen Li said in the note dated yesterday. Imports may grow 7.7 percent annually in the five-year period, accounting for 5.6 percent of consumption by 2015 from 4.9 percent in 2010, according to the bank.

China bought more coal than it exported for the first time in 2009 when global prices were lower than the cost of domestic grades. Net imports, or overseas purchases minus exports, rose to a record 146 million tons last year from 103 million tons in 2009, according to Chinese customs data.

"Our forecast reveals a potential supply deficit of 190 million to 230 million tons of coal in China lasting from 2011 until 2015," CCB, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Construction Bank, said in the report. "The shortfall would need to be filled by massive coal imports."

The nation may add 600 million tons of new production capacity in the next five years, compared with 850 million tons in the preceding period, according to CCB. Output growth may slow to 3.4 percent annually in the five years through 2015 from 6.8 percent between 2006 and 2010, it said.

The price of power-station coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories per kilogram at Qinhuangdao port, a Chinese benchmark, may average 850 yuan ($129) this year and 900 yuan in 2012, the analysts said.( By bloomberg)

Datang approved to develop coal mine in Inner Mongolia

Mar 8, 2011 |en.sxcoal

China’s top power generator Datang Group recently has gained approval from the National Development and Reform Commission to develop the second phase of an opencast coal mine in Inner Mongolia, according to a circular issued by the NDRC.

The project, with designed capacity of 30 million tonnes, is an expansion to the first phase of Shengli East No. 2 open pit in Xilingol, which has designed capacity of 10 million tonnes per year and commenced operation in Jun 2010.

Coal products, mainly brown coal with low-medium calorific value and medium sulphur content, will be supplied to Datong’s local plants in Inner Mongolia, including Xilinhot power plant, coal-to-olefin project in Duolun, coal gasification project in Keshiketeng and other projects.

Datang also plans to develop the third phase with annual capacity of 60 million tonnes, making it one of the largest mine projects in the world.

China has 50 coal cos with output over 10Mt

Mar 7, 2011

There were 50 coal companies with annual production above 10 million tonnes in China, according to the latest data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics.

During the period from 2006 to 2010, these companies produced 1.73 billion tonnnes coal, or over 50 percent of the country’s total, said the bureau.

China closed 9000 small coal mines and phased out 450 million tonnes of backward production capacity in the past five years, it noted.

The country produced a total of 3.24 billion tonnes coal in 2010, increasing 1.4 times from 2005, the bureau added. (en.sxcoal)

Shenhua gets nod to develop 13Bt Inner Mongolia mine

Mar 7, 2011

Shenhua Energy, the listed company of China’s top producer, has gained approval from the National Development and Reform Commission to develop a coal mine in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the company announced in a statement late Mar 4.

As a large untapped coalfield, Xinjie Taigemiao mining area, located in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, is estimated to hold 13 billion tonnes coal reserves, Huaxi Metropolis reported.

The mining area, adjacent to Shendong mining area, will be constructed as a modern coal mine with annual output of 100 million tonnes commercial coal, according to the statement

Pre-exploration work is undergoing, the company said.(sourced:en.sxcoal)

Shaanxi to build China’s first coal slurry pipeline

Marh7, 2011 |en.sxcoal

With a total length of 742km and investment up to 6.8 billion yuan, the pipeline will start from Shenmu county, Yulin city, and end at Weinan city, according to Weinan Development and Reform Commission.

The pipeline, to be constructed by Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group Co., Ltd., will have annual transmission capacity of 10 million tonnes coal slurry, said the commission.

Shanxi Coal Int’l 2010 coal output exceeds 6Mt

Mar4, 2011

Shanxi Coal International Energy Group Co., Ltd., (SCIE) based in coal-rich Shanxi province of North China, produced a total of 6.07 million tonnes coal in 2010, China Securities reported.

The coal output was a surge of 1.51 million tonnes or 33.22 percent from that in last year, according to the company’s 2010 annual report released on Mar 3.

Following technology upgrading and resources consolidation, SCIE will see a gradual release in its production capacity starting from 2012, which is expected to reach nearly 19 million tonnes by 2013, according to the annual report.

And, SCIE witnessed a year-on-year increase of 77.5 percent in profit from coal mining to 2.67 billion yuan, the report showed.

Guizhou, Shanghai cos. to jointly develop coal resources

Mar 1, 2011

Double Dragons Inc., based in Guizhou province of northwestern China on Feb 28 signed a cooperation agreement with Shanghai Yunfeng Group to jointly establish a large coal group for developing coal resources in Guizhou, Xinhua News Agency reported.

With a joint investment of nearly 2 billion yuan, the new coal group would mainly engage in coal production and deep-processing in Guizhou. It plans to have production capacity over 10 million tonnes and production value in excess of 10 billion yuan during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, according to the report.

Double Dragon, a comprehensive private company, focuses on business of coal, phosphorus chemical, food and trade, while Shanghai Yunfeng, a large state-owned company, mainly conducts business in energy, automobile, real estate and logistics.Coal-rich Guihzou holds coal reserves up to 50 billion tonnes, ranking the fifth in China.(By Xinhua)

Tags : coal, raw material, steel mills, coal production, agreement

Baosteel inks 3-year coking coal deal with Rio Tinto

Monday, Feb 28, 2011 10:36am GMT by Reuters

SHANGHAI - China's Baoshan Iron & Steel (600019.SS: Quote) said on Monday it had signed a three-year coking coal supply contract with major Australian miner Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote) to kick off new long-term cooperation for another key raw material.

Rio Tinto will supply coking coal to the Chinese steel firm starting this year, making Baosteel its first long-term Chinese coal buyer.

Baosteel didn't disclose the supply volume on its website report.

Rio Tinto is the world's third biggest miner by market value and produces both coking coal and thermal coal.

Most of the state's coal industry was shut in December and January as flood waters inundated pits, damaged rail lines and shut ports, and most experts predicted it could take until the end of the first quarter for the industry to return to normal.

Coal production in Australia's flood-hit Queensland state could drop by between 25 percent and 50 percent this quarter, leading to tighter supply for Asian steelmakers.

Australia is the world's largest exporter of coking coal, and Queensland state accounts for the majority of Australian coking coal production.

Baosteel, China's top listed steel mill, said on Friday it has exchanged ideas with Australia's major miner Rio Tinto on how to improve iron ore pricing.

Baosteel used to lead other major domestic steel mills in the annual negotiation with global miners including Vale (VALE.N: Quote)(VALE5.SA: Quote) and BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote) (BLT.L: Quote), but miners pushed buyers to accept an index-based quarterly pricing mechanism to take advantage of the rising spot market.(Reporting by Ruby Lian and Tom Miles; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Tags: Australian thermal coal, Vale, BHP Billiton, rising spot market,