>>The Indian coal-fired power plants, which are with coal supply shortage, will now find imports of coal cheaper. Rising coal production in Indonesia and lower demand from Chinese consumers have reduced Indonesian coal prices by at least 22% during the last one and half month.
The Chinese government has already restricted coal imports at many of the ports in that country. Also, that government has planned to phase out many coal-fired thermal power plants there—that will slacken coal demand.
In view of the falling coal prices, many buyers have moved to the sidelines, waiting for the prices to come down to significant levels.
However, the landed costs of Indonesian coal are higher than the domestic prices in India. The landed costs of Indonesian coal imports are at around INR 3,287/MT, while the domestic coal prices are at around INR 2,300/MT.
>>Rio Tinto’s Thermal Coal production in Australia during the Jan’18-Mar’18 period stood at 1.12 MnT, up by 12% year-on-year and higher by 16% quarter-on-quarter. The higher production was attributed to the changes implemented at its Hail Creek mine in Australia.
The company is now left with its only Hail Creek and Kestrel coal mines, situated at the Queensland region in Australia. But, these mines will also be sold off as the company is in the process of exiting the coal business and intends to focus on the other areas.
Rio Tinto has set a Thermal Coal production target at 3.8-4.5 MnT for 2018.
>> The newly elected Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma, has expressed optimism on the likelihood of the ban on coal mining in the state be lifted soon. The minister is also in charge of mining and geology.
The ban on coal mining was imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 17 Apr’14 to prevent the water of rivers in the state from turning acidic due to the pollution caused by coal mining.
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