Friday, 02 Dec 2011
Three Indian companies are in the race for a Coal India contract that called bids for exploration of its 200 odd square km block in Mozambique.
The world largest coal miner, which opened the price bids of Mining Associates, Indu-CBS Joint Venture and Kartikeyan Pvt Ltd last week, won the block two years ago. It is now expected to award the contract within 45 days.
Mr AK Singh CMD at the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute which is CIL's technical arm that finalizes and floats tenders said that "We have asked the parties concerned to justify the price bids following which we will scrutinize them and finalize the lowest bidder.”
Coal India Africana Limitad, a wholly owned subsidiary of CIL, won a 5 year licence for exploration and development of two coal blocks in Mozambique in August 2009.
In February, it invited exploration bids for A1 and A2 mining blocks in the northwestern province of Tete. During May, three parties submitted their financial bids. The final selection was to be completed by July. However, there were some issues with respect to the currency in which the bank guarantees were submitted by the bidders. This forced CIL to scrap the bids and call for fresh ones.
Nevertheless, Coal India hopes to start the first phase of production by 2013-14. With an initial estimated reserve of 1 billion tonnes, the coal will be imported to cater to domestic demand from customers in Western India. It is an exploratory block with an area of about 205 square km and preliminary estimates suggest that it could have a reserve of about 1 billion tonnes.
About 20% of the deposits are expected to be coking coal while the remaining is expected to be thermal coal that can be used as fuel in power plants. Exploration will be done in two phases. The first phase will include finding out the tentative concentration of reserves at various locations in the block. The second phase will include estimation of the exact quantum of coal in these probable areas with high reserves.
(Sourced from ET)
Showing posts with label coal exploration licenses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coal exploration licenses. Show all posts
Friday, December 2, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Coal license for union boss sparks ICAC investigation - Report
Thursday, 17 Nov 2011
It is reported that the awarding of a coal exploration license to a former union leader by the disgraced former labor minister Mr Ian Macdonald is set to be investigated by the corruption watchdog after an independent report found there was 'a circumstantial case of wrongdoing'.
The energy and resources minister Mr Chris Hartcher introduced a resolution to Parliament requiring the Independent Commission Against Corruption to investigate the circumstances surrounding the granting of the license. He told Parliament the report showed there was a clear departure from proper practice. He added that "There have been serious errors of judgment on the part of Ian Macdonald, with a cloud hanging over the dealings between him and his union mate."
In July 2011, the Department of Resources and Energy commissioned Clayton Utz to review the circumstances surrounding the awarding of the license by Mr Macdonald, who was minister for mineral resources in the former Labor government.
Mr Macdonald, who resigned from Parliament last year over an expenses scandal, awarded the license to Doyles Creek Mining, a company chaired by Mr John Maitland, a former national secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union who also had an 11% shareholding. Doyles Creek Mining was taken over by NuCoal resources last year and floated on the stock exchange for USD 100 million, eventually inflating Mr Maitland's shareholding from USD 165,000 to about USD 10 million.
The report, revealed by the Herald, found that there were other companies interested in an exploration license at Doyles Creek, in the upper Hunter. But Mr Macdonald invited Doyles Creek Mining to apply for the license, failing to put it to tender as required under departmental guidelines.
The report finds that Mr Macdonald's decision 'may well be voidable on the basis of it being in excess of jurisdiction, bad faith or manifestly unreasonable. It recommends the government establish a special commission of inquiry into the granting of the license.
The resolution, which passed the Legislative Assembly but has yet to be considered by the upper house, requires the ICAC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the application and allocation of the license and the making of profits, if any, by the shareholders of NuCoal Resources NL as proprietors of Doyles Creek Mining Pty Limited.
It asks the ICAC to advise on action the government should take and whether it should begin action against any individual or company. The government has chosen to ask Parliament to refer the case to the ICAC as it ensures that the commission must ''fully investigate'' the matter.
(sourced from www.smh.com.au)
It is reported that the awarding of a coal exploration license to a former union leader by the disgraced former labor minister Mr Ian Macdonald is set to be investigated by the corruption watchdog after an independent report found there was 'a circumstantial case of wrongdoing'.
The energy and resources minister Mr Chris Hartcher introduced a resolution to Parliament requiring the Independent Commission Against Corruption to investigate the circumstances surrounding the granting of the license. He told Parliament the report showed there was a clear departure from proper practice. He added that "There have been serious errors of judgment on the part of Ian Macdonald, with a cloud hanging over the dealings between him and his union mate."
In July 2011, the Department of Resources and Energy commissioned Clayton Utz to review the circumstances surrounding the awarding of the license by Mr Macdonald, who was minister for mineral resources in the former Labor government.
Mr Macdonald, who resigned from Parliament last year over an expenses scandal, awarded the license to Doyles Creek Mining, a company chaired by Mr John Maitland, a former national secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union who also had an 11% shareholding. Doyles Creek Mining was taken over by NuCoal resources last year and floated on the stock exchange for USD 100 million, eventually inflating Mr Maitland's shareholding from USD 165,000 to about USD 10 million.
The report, revealed by the Herald, found that there were other companies interested in an exploration license at Doyles Creek, in the upper Hunter. But Mr Macdonald invited Doyles Creek Mining to apply for the license, failing to put it to tender as required under departmental guidelines.
The report finds that Mr Macdonald's decision 'may well be voidable on the basis of it being in excess of jurisdiction, bad faith or manifestly unreasonable. It recommends the government establish a special commission of inquiry into the granting of the license.
The resolution, which passed the Legislative Assembly but has yet to be considered by the upper house, requires the ICAC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the application and allocation of the license and the making of profits, if any, by the shareholders of NuCoal Resources NL as proprietors of Doyles Creek Mining Pty Limited.
It asks the ICAC to advise on action the government should take and whether it should begin action against any individual or company. The government has chosen to ask Parliament to refer the case to the ICAC as it ensures that the commission must ''fully investigate'' the matter.
(sourced from www.smh.com.au)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Astra Resources targets thermal coal through JV in Nigeria
Sunday, 23 Oct 2011
Diversified mining company Astra Resources PLC which is the UK parent company of Astra Mining, is continuing with an aggressive global expansion, and has now signed a memorandum of understanding for a joint venture development of a thermal coal exploration license in Nigeria.
This announcement follow hot on the heels of two deals earlier in the month, which included an agreement for iron sands development in north east Philippines and trading licenses in India. The MOU allows Astra subsidiary Muyiwa Pte Ltd to take super-majority ownership of African company Barjalex Nig Ltd who owns a coal exploration license covering the Manejo and Odele communities in the Ika District of Ankpa Local Government in Kogi State three kilometres south of Ogboyaga.
This exploration license covers an area of four square kilometres, which is expected to be expanded immediately to 12 square kilometres. A joint venture agreement is in the process of being drafted with the transaction receiving the full support of the local community.
Dr Jaydeep Biswas CEO of Astra said Nigeria is struggling to meet the growing nation’s energy requirements using electrical power, resulting in a renewed focus on alternative energy sources.
He said that “Currently the transmission and distribution of electricity is not adequate for the country, and as Nigeria becomes more industrialized it is predicted to experience more frequent power failures and load-shedding, resulting in economic losses, damaged equipment and the need for expensive stand-by power.”
He added that “As Nigeria has major under explored and underexploited high quality coal resources, the Nigerian government is focusing on developing coal-fired power plants and in turn revitalizing the coal mining industry.”
He also said “The coal present in the district and surrounds is low in sulphur and ash, and high in calorific value making it ideal for power generation and export into the international market. The Barjalex transaction creates a beach-head for growth in a region which has the potential of 800 million tonnes of thermal coal.”
Mr Biswas says if power becomes available and the population becomes more accustomed to modern conveniences, the “KW per household” factors will increase, further expanding the demand for electrical power.
He said that “Even by conservative measures, the country appears ready to absorb the output from 10,000 MW to 15,000 MW of additional generation capacity during the next 20 to 25 years. He added that in order to meet these needs, approximately 3.2 million tonnes of coal will be required per year for each 1000 MW of capacity.”
With a population approaching 140 million, statistics indicate that Nigeria can be considered to have between 20 million and 25 million households.
Estimates of the minimum load demand or generating capacity indicate that the 10,000 MW of capacity targeted by the Federal Government of Nigeria is a reasonable reflection of the capacity necessary to satisfy the country actual needs for electricity supply in the near term and that as electricity becomes available the demand can grow to over 15,000 MW.
(sourced proactiveinvestors)
Diversified mining company Astra Resources PLC which is the UK parent company of Astra Mining, is continuing with an aggressive global expansion, and has now signed a memorandum of understanding for a joint venture development of a thermal coal exploration license in Nigeria.
This announcement follow hot on the heels of two deals earlier in the month, which included an agreement for iron sands development in north east Philippines and trading licenses in India. The MOU allows Astra subsidiary Muyiwa Pte Ltd to take super-majority ownership of African company Barjalex Nig Ltd who owns a coal exploration license covering the Manejo and Odele communities in the Ika District of Ankpa Local Government in Kogi State three kilometres south of Ogboyaga.
This exploration license covers an area of four square kilometres, which is expected to be expanded immediately to 12 square kilometres. A joint venture agreement is in the process of being drafted with the transaction receiving the full support of the local community.
Dr Jaydeep Biswas CEO of Astra said Nigeria is struggling to meet the growing nation’s energy requirements using electrical power, resulting in a renewed focus on alternative energy sources.
He said that “Currently the transmission and distribution of electricity is not adequate for the country, and as Nigeria becomes more industrialized it is predicted to experience more frequent power failures and load-shedding, resulting in economic losses, damaged equipment and the need for expensive stand-by power.”
He added that “As Nigeria has major under explored and underexploited high quality coal resources, the Nigerian government is focusing on developing coal-fired power plants and in turn revitalizing the coal mining industry.”
He also said “The coal present in the district and surrounds is low in sulphur and ash, and high in calorific value making it ideal for power generation and export into the international market. The Barjalex transaction creates a beach-head for growth in a region which has the potential of 800 million tonnes of thermal coal.”
Mr Biswas says if power becomes available and the population becomes more accustomed to modern conveniences, the “KW per household” factors will increase, further expanding the demand for electrical power.
He said that “Even by conservative measures, the country appears ready to absorb the output from 10,000 MW to 15,000 MW of additional generation capacity during the next 20 to 25 years. He added that in order to meet these needs, approximately 3.2 million tonnes of coal will be required per year for each 1000 MW of capacity.”
With a population approaching 140 million, statistics indicate that Nigeria can be considered to have between 20 million and 25 million households.
Estimates of the minimum load demand or generating capacity indicate that the 10,000 MW of capacity targeted by the Federal Government of Nigeria is a reasonable reflection of the capacity necessary to satisfy the country actual needs for electricity supply in the near term and that as electricity becomes available the demand can grow to over 15,000 MW.
(sourced proactiveinvestors)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Zimbabwe government issues 20 coal exploration licenses
Wednesday, 28 Sep 2011
Zimbabwe, which currently imports virtually all of its oil needs, averaging roughly 14,000 barrels per day, is seeking to expand its indigenous energy resources, particularly coal.
Mr Obert Mpofu Zimbabwe Mines and Mining Development Minister said during the third Zimbabwe Mining Indaba that "We have awarded 20 licenses for coal exploration and mining. This should help in ensuring that the country can generate adequate electricity for the economy in general."
The five firms awarded licenses were Makomo Investments, WK Blasting, Clidder, Apex and Liberation Mining. The majority of the 20 companies receiving prospecting licenses are joint ventures with Zimbabwean partners owning controlling stakes in accordance with the Zimbabwe indigenization and empowerment law.
Business research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan reports that Zimbabwe has coal reserves that will approximately last the next 200 years at a production output of 5 000 tons per annum with the coal reserves being suitable for providing feedstock for coal-powered thermal power stations. In addition, the Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission recently licensed 13 independent power projects.
(Sourced from Oil Price)
Zimbabwe, which currently imports virtually all of its oil needs, averaging roughly 14,000 barrels per day, is seeking to expand its indigenous energy resources, particularly coal.
Mr Obert Mpofu Zimbabwe Mines and Mining Development Minister said during the third Zimbabwe Mining Indaba that "We have awarded 20 licenses for coal exploration and mining. This should help in ensuring that the country can generate adequate electricity for the economy in general."
The five firms awarded licenses were Makomo Investments, WK Blasting, Clidder, Apex and Liberation Mining. The majority of the 20 companies receiving prospecting licenses are joint ventures with Zimbabwean partners owning controlling stakes in accordance with the Zimbabwe indigenization and empowerment law.
Business research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan reports that Zimbabwe has coal reserves that will approximately last the next 200 years at a production output of 5 000 tons per annum with the coal reserves being suitable for providing feedstock for coal-powered thermal power stations. In addition, the Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission recently licensed 13 independent power projects.
(Sourced from Oil Price)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Mozambique to issue more coal licenses by 2012
Tue,March01,2011
MAPUTO – Mozambique will issue more coal exploration licenses in three provinces between this year and 2012, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
National Mining Director in the Mineral Resources Ministry Eduardo Alexandre told Reuters foreign firms from North America, Europe and Asia will be invited.
"We hope to issue at least five exploration licences this year and next in the provinces of Tete, Niassa and Cabo Delgado in the northern regions of Mozambique," Alexandre said in an interview.
"We have areas where there is a potential existence of coal in the provinces of Niassa, Tete and Cabo Delgado."
The resource-rich state with vast, untapped coal deposits has so far granted 105 licenses for research and exploration of mineral resources.
Australia's Riversdale, India's Tata Steel, Brazil's Vale are looking to exploit coal in the country with billions of tonnes of mineable coal. Edited by:Reuters
Tags: world's untapped coal deposit, India, raw material,
National Mining Director in the Mineral Resources Ministry Eduardo Alexandre told Reuters foreign firms from North America, Europe and Asia will be invited.
"We hope to issue at least five exploration licences this year and next in the provinces of Tete, Niassa and Cabo Delgado in the northern regions of Mozambique," Alexandre said in an interview.
"We have areas where there is a potential existence of coal in the provinces of Niassa, Tete and Cabo Delgado."
The resource-rich state with vast, untapped coal deposits has so far granted 105 licenses for research and exploration of mineral resources.
Australia's Riversdale, India's Tata Steel, Brazil's Vale are looking to exploit coal in the country with billions of tonnes of mineable coal. Edited by:Reuters
Tags: world's untapped coal deposit, India, raw material,
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