Vale moves to exit coal business

Spanish Market: Coal, Coking coal
20/04/21

In its first step to exit the coal business, Brazilian mining firm Vale will acquire all stakes held by Japanese trading house Mitsui in the Moatize coal mine and Nacala corridor coal infrastructure in Mozambique.

Vale will own 95pc of the coal mine and 100pc of the Nacala project with Mitsui's exit and will then initiate a sale its stakes to third-party investors, in line with its commitment to carbon neutrality and a focus on the core business, it said.

Vale has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mitsui's stakes. Mitsui signed a preliminary agreement in January to withdraw from its 15pc stake in the Moatize mine and 50pc stake in the Nacala corridor.

Vale's first-quarter coal production fell by 44.5pc on year and by 11.4pc on quarter to 1.09mn t because of weaker seaborne coal demand during the pandemic and maintenance of two processing plants in Moatize.

Coking coal production fell by 43.2pc on year and by 15.3pc to 558,000t while thermal coal output fell by 45.7pc on year and by 6.9pc on quarter to 532,000t.

Previously delayed maintenance restarted in November.

The revamp of Plant 1 was completed in early April, while the revamp of Plant 2 is expected to end in May. Vale expects the work to increase the mine's capacity to 15mn t/yr in the second half of 2021 and to 18mn t/yr in 2022.

By Dylan Wong

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21/03/25

Australia's Simcoa may buy carbon credits until 2028

Sydney, 21 March (Argus) — Australia's silicon producer Simcoa will likely need to buy and surrender Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) until 2028 for safeguard mechanism compliance obligations before it completes a key decarbonisation project, it told Argus today. The project was awarded federal funds on 20 March. Australia's federal Labor government granted Simcoa A$39.8mn ($25mn) under its Powering the Regions Fund (PRF) to expand charcoal production at its Wellesley facility in Western Australia (WA) and remove the use of coal in silicon production. The project is expected to reduce the company's scope 1 emissions by around 90pc, or approximately 100,000 t/yr of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). Simcoa is Australia's only silicon manufacturer, which is a key component of solar panels. The funding will help maintain silicon manufacturing capability in the country in addition to cutting emissions, energy minister Chris Bowen said. The company currently uses 35,000 t/yr of metallurgical low ash coal in its operations, and anticipates usage will drop to zero after it doubles its charcoal production capacity by 25,000 t/yr to 50,000 t/yr. The completion date for the expansion is not expected before 2028. The firm may continue to buy [ACCUs] as it must use coal as a reducing agent for part of its production for calendar years 2025-27, or until the expansion project can be commissioned, the company told Argus on 21 March. Simcoa surrendered 22,178 ACCUs in the July 2022-June 2023 compliance year as it reported scope 1 emissions of 122,178t of CO2e with a baseline of 100,000t CO2e at its Kemerton silicon smelter. Figures were lower for the July 2023-June 2024 compliance period, the company said, without disclosing details. Australia's Clean Energy Regulator (CER) will publish 2023-24 safeguard data by 15 April . Simcoa anticipates scope 1 emissions at the Kemerton smelter to be "considerably below" the baseline once the charcoal expansion is completed and could make it eligible to earn and sell safeguard mechanism credits (SMCs), which traded for the first time in late February . "We will take whatever opportunity is available to us," the company said on potentially holding or selling SMCs in future. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit

20/03/25

Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit

Houston, 20 March (Argus) — The first towboat arrived at St Paul, Minnesota, today, marking the start of the 2025 navigation season on the upper Mississippi River, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Neil N. Diehl passed through Lock 2 at Hastings, Minnesota, with nine barges, crossing into St Paul on 19 March. Tows reaching St Paul signify the unofficial start of the navigation season, as St Paul is the last port to open on the Mississippi River after winter ice thaws each year. This is considered an average start time for the navigation season, which typically opens the third week of March. The first tow to reach St Paul in 2024 arrived on 17 March. The Corps released the final Lake Pepin ice measurements of 17in on 12 March and was unable to take new measurements this week since the ice had melted significantly. Lake Pepin measurements help determine when the ice will be thin enough for barges to transit up river. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Turkish lira at all-time low against dollar

19/03/25

Turkish lira at all-time low against dollar

London, 19 March (Argus) — Turkey's lira currency fell to record lows against the US dollar today, after the arrest of Istanbul's mayor provoked concern about instability. The depreciation could cause imports of dollar-denominated commodities to become more expensive, although reaction was mixed across markets. The lira went as low at 40/$1 in early trading, from below 37/$1 on Tuesday 18 March, before easing to around 38/$1 later in the day. The lira has been slowly depreciating against the dollar for many years, but the sharp fall today came after Ekrem Imamoglu, one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rivals, was held on suspicion of corruption and aiding a terrorist organisation. Turkey is a significant importer of natural gas, crude and LPG, as well as coal and petcoke, although demand for many commodities will be muted currently because of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Early indications from the coal and petcoke markets were that all import trades had halted as the lira hit the record low. In polymers markets the focus is on whether demand recovers after Ramadan ends on 30 March. But a trading source in Turkey said the fall is not enough for "massive changes" to imports of oil products. The OECD forecasts headline inflation in Turkey at 31.4pc this year, the highest among its members, easing to 17.3pc in 2026. The IMF has forecast Turkey's economy will grow by 2.6pc this year, after an expansion of 2.7pc in 2024. By Ben Winkley, Aydin Calik, Joseph Clarke, Amaar Khan and Dila Odluyurt Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Indonesian coal producers wary of proposed royalty hike

19/03/25

Indonesian coal producers wary of proposed royalty hike

Manila, 19 March (Argus) — Indonesian coal producers have raised concerns on a proposed royalty hike by the country's ministry of energy and mineral resources (ESDM). The proposal is ill-timed given an extended sluggishness in coal prices and the impact of recent government regulations, the Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) said. The industry is still navigating the regulatory changes announced in February and a higher royalty will impact revenues, IMA said. Exporters of national resources, including coal but excluding oil and gas, are required to place 100pc of the foreign currency proceeds into a special deposit account of a national bank for at least 12 months, starting on 1 March. This marks a significant increase compared with the initial regulation, which required exporters to place only 30pc of the foreign currency proceeds onshore for three months. Jakarta also approved a decision in February to link coal exports to HBA , a government set reference price, starting from 1 March. Coal prices have been steadily declining since 2024, which has significantly pressured margins, prompting many producers to keep output flat in 2025 and focus on ways to increase efficiency and reduce costs. A higher royalty could lead to lower coal production, IMA said. Coal producers prepare their Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) based on current coal royalty rates, it said. A change in royalty might necessitate a review of these plans since the validity period for the RKAB is three years. The ESDM first announced its plans to increase royalty rates in the first half of March. Coal royalties could be increased by 1 percentage point for producers holding business permits (IUP) for GAR 5,200 kcal/kg or lower coal products when the HBA is at or above $90/t. This would result in GAR 4,200 kcal/kg or lower coal having a new royalty rate of 9pc from the current 8pc. Coal with a higher calorific value (CV) than GAR 4,200 kcal/kg up to GAR 5,200 kcal/kg would have a new royalty rate of 11.5pc, up from 10.5pc. Royalties from coal with a higher CV than GAR 5,200 kcal/kg would remain unchanged at 13.5pc under the proposed revision. Coal Contract of Work (PKP2B) holders will retain their 13.5pc total tariff rate across all coal grades, as the 1 percentage point increase in royalty rates will be offset by a 1 percentage point decrease in mining receipt shares, the ESDM said. The increase was proposed to raise non-tax state revenue collections from the mining industry. By Antonio delos Reyes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia's New Hope boosts coal output in Aug-Jan

18/03/25

Australia's New Hope boosts coal output in Aug-Jan

Sydney, 18 March (Argus) — Australian coal producer New Hope increased its thermal coal production by 33pc on the year over the first half of its financial year, August 2024–January, while increasing its exposure to the coking coal market. New Hope raised the production rate at its Bengalla thermal coal mine in New South Wales (NSW) to 13.4mn t/yr of ROM coal towards the end of August 2024-January, in line with previously announced plans but below the site's approved capacity of 15mn t/yr. The company mined 4.2mn t of saleable coal at the NSW mine over that period, allowing it to maintain its Bengalla guidance for the 2025 financial year ending 31 July at 8.1mn-8.7mn t of saleable coal, in its half-year financial report. To the north of the site, in Queensland, New Hope produced 1.2mn t of saleable coal at its New Acland thermal coal mine over August-January, up from just 300,000t from a year earlier. The company only mined 1mn t of saleable coal at the mine over its 2024 financial year, ending 31 July 2024. New Hope also negotiated a legal settlement with the Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA), an activist group that had been opposing New Acland's ramp-up, on 13 January. The company's settlement enabled it to maintain New Hope's 2025 guidance at 2.8mn-3.2mn t of thermal coal. But some of New Acland's coal exports may have been delayed by Cyclone Alfred in March, despite its production and legal successes over August-January. The Port of Brisbane , which handles exports from the site, closed for almost a week as the extreme weather system hovered off the coast of Queensland. New Hope also increased its ownership stake in publicly traded coking coal producer Malabar Resources, from 20pc to 23pc, over the last half-year. New Hope diversified its operations as coal prices started falling. Argus ' Australian pulverised coal injection (PCI) and thermal coal prices have been sliding over the last three months. Its coal 6,000kcal NAR fob Newcastle price hit $100/t on 17 March, down by 24pc from $131/t on 17 December, while its PCI low-vol fob Australia price slid by 18pc over the same period. By Avinash Govind Saleable Coal Production mn t August-January 2025 August-January 2024 August 2023 - July 2024 y-o-y Change (%) Bengalla Mine 4.2 3.8 8.0 11 New Acland 1.2 0.3 1.0 300 Total 5.4 4.1 9.1 33 New Hope Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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