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Japan to fund coal plant shutdowns in Southeast Asia Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group will provide financing to help close coal power plants ahead of schedule in Southeast Asia. Mizuho now has tight restrictions on new financing for coal power facilities that prevent it from funding early shutdowns. The company plans to change this policy in July to allow limited financing that helps operators move away from the carbon-intensive fuel. Other Japanese megabanks are considering such transition financing on a case-by-case basis. Asian coal plants often are run via joint operating companies set up by multiple investors. These come with capital plans over a certain period of time that would be derailed by an early shutdown. Mizuho will offer financing to help operators repay external loans taken to build these facilities or pay out promised dividends. Letting investors recoup their money ahead of schedule might encourage operators to close coal plants sooner. The funding will carry conditions such as having recipients pledge to pivot to renewable or low-carbon energy projects. Efforts are underway to accelerate coal plant closures in Indonesia. The capital needed can vary widely depending on the size of the facility and how early it is being closed, but the cost of shuttering a plant in Indonesia 10 to 15 years ahead of schedule has been estimated at up to US$300 million. The United Nations has called for members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to phase out coal power by 2030, with other countries following by 2040. According to Global Energy Monitor, OECD countries will cut down 70% of coal capacity within that time frame, and 6% of capacity outside the OECD. Japanese banks have pledged to zero out their outstanding financing for coal projects by fiscal 2040. Mizuho cut its total domestic and foreign funding from JPY299.5 billion (US$19.1 million) at the end of fiscal 2019 to JPY235.5 billion at the end of fiscal 2022.

Lift-off for Cape Hardy green fuels project Canada-headquartered energy transition company Amp Energy has announced the development of the Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Precinct, which entails green hydrogen, green ammonia and advanced fuel production in the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. The project is coming to fruition as Amp Energy and ASX-listed Iron Road finalise commercial agreements for the purchase of 630 ha of land, a royalty structure and common-user infrastructure arrangements. The Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Precinct is poised to operate at significant scale, with plans under way for up 10 GW of planned electrolyser capacity. Initial development will be structured to bring on line 1 GW, with subsequent increments leading to the attainment of the full 10 GW capacity. The project will cater to the domestic Australian market, supporting government’s net-zero goals, while also featuring global export capabilities. To facilitate distribution, Cape Hardy will house Australia’s first purpose-built advanced fuels export terminal.  https://lnkd.in/e2rvAPk6

BHP debates improved bid as time runs out in Anglo takeover saga With time running out on its $43-billion pursuit of Anglo American, BHP Group faces a critical question: what would it take to draw the smaller company to the negotiating table within the next few days? BHP’s plan to partially break up and then acquire Anglo has transfixed the mining industry by pitting two of its biggest names against each other in a public tussle. Anglo has already rejected two non-binding proposals from BHP — criticizing both the valuation and complexity — and instead rushed out a dramatic restructuring plan of its own. Now, all eyes are on BHP: By 5pm London on Wednesday, the world’s biggest miner must either announce a firm intention to make an offer, or walk away for six months under UK takeover rules. BHP is considering whether to make an improved proposal, but had yet to do so, according to people familiar with the matter. The world’s biggest miner would like some sign of engagement from Anglo to make a firm offer, some of the people said, and one way to achieve that could be with a proposal attractive enough to convince Anglo’s own investors to push the company to enter talks. Still, BHP is wary of bidding against itself in a vacuum, and walking away remains a strong possibility. The company currently has no intention of going hostile with an offer to Anglo’s shareholders if the board refuses to engage with it. Spokespeople for BHP and Anglo declined to comment. BHP CEO Mike Henry is trying to get his hands on Anglo’s copper assets, which are the envy of the industry, but wants Anglo to first spin off its South African platinum and iron ore businesses before proceeding with a takeover. The acquisition would be the industry’s biggest deal in over a decade and would create the world’s biggest copper producer — accounting for roughly 10% of global supply — at a time when mining companies and their investors are positioning to benefit from a looming supply deficit. https://lnkd.in/e4GM-f-a

Epiroc completes acquisition of the business of leading rock drilling parts manufacturer in South Africa Epiroc, a leading productivity and sustainability partner for the mining and construction industries, has completed the acquisition of the business of Weco Proprietary Limited, a South African manufacturer of precision-engineered rock drilling parts and provider of related repairs and services.  Weco is based near Johannesburg, South Africa. The company, which has more than four decades of industry experience, has about 80 employees and had revenues in the fiscal year ending May 31, 2023, of about MZAR 160 (MSEK 90). Weco’s customers are mainly underground mining companies in the Southern African region.  Epiroc announced on December 12, 2023, that it had agreed to acquire Weco.  The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price as the transaction is not subject to a disclosure obligation pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation.  #mining #mqworld #miningworld

Rail workers in Canada vote to strike, threatening supply chains Rail workers demanding more rest time moved closer to a strike that would disrupt supply chains from Halifax to Vancouver and down through the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. A union representing more than 9 000 employees at Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City said workers overwhelmingly voted in favor of job action to push the companies to include provisions to combat crew fatigue in their collective agreements. The work stoppage would start as early as May 22 if no deal is reached. It would interrupt transport of products — including cars, coal, consumer goods, fertilizer, grains, minerals and petroleum — as well as commuter services, which are run by the affected conductors, locomotive engineers, yard workers and rail traffic controllers. “The simultaneous work stoppage at both CN and CPKC would disrupt supply chains on a scale Canada has likely never experienced,” Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, said at a news conference Wednesday in Ottawa. Boucher said the union will go back to the bargaining table and “do everything in our power to reach a fair deal for our members.” The two rail giants account for nearly 90% of the industry’s revenues and more than three-quarters of overall tonnage carried by the sector. Both companies said they’re working to reach a deal to avoid a work stoppage and warned that a strike would have an impact beyond the Canadian border. “It would disrupt essential supply chains throughout North America, and significantly constrain trade between Canada and the US and Mexico,” Canadian Pacific said in a statement Wednesday. Passenger rail services on its network in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver will also be “unable to operate.” Canadian National said it “maintains a cautious outlook regarding possibility of finalizing a deal before a labor disruption that would affect the Canadian supply chain, the North American economy and our employees.” Both companies’ share prices continued to slide on Wednesday, with CN Rail down 0.7% on the day, while Canadian Pacific fell about 1.2% as of 1:35 p.m. in Ottawa. Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the Canadian government was concerned and urged the parties to negotiate in good faith. “The best deals are made around the table,” he told reporters. There’s a lot on the line not only for Canada, but across the continent, added Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan. “The ramifications of it are not lost on me. This is something I’ve been keeping my eye on for months and months and months,” he said. “But right now, cool heads prevail. And you know, we’ve got good people there that are helping them reach that deal.”

MC Mining’s Uitkomst Colliery increases quarterly output following turnaround plan Run-of-mine (RoM) coal production at MC Mining‘s Uitkomst steelmaking and thermal coal mine, in South Africa, increased by 14% year-on-year to 115 909 t for the quarter ended March 31 – the third quarter of its 2024 financial year. ASX-, Aim- and JSE-listed MC Mining, which is being bought out by Goldway Capital Investment, reports that the mine sold 75 590 t of high-grade coal during the quarter. “The Uitkomst Colliery turnaround plan continues to yield very pleasing results, and RoM coal production significantly exceeded the comparative period in 2023. Production at the underground colliery remains challenging due to the geological conditions and extended travel time to the mining areas and unfortunately the mine recorded one lost-time injury during the quarter. “The international and domestic thermal coal markets remain under pricing pressure and, during the period, the colliery continued to assess alternative marketing strategies, resulting in the signing of an offtake term sheet with Paladar [Resources] in April,” MC Mining MD & CEO Godfrey Gomwe comments. The coal miner reiterates that Goldway’s takeover offer of A$0.16 a share was declared unconditional on April 8, and points out that, by April 29, Goldway held about 93.05% of MC Mining‘s shares. It expects Goldway’s takeover process to be completed on April 30. Meanwhile, the takeover process adversely impacted on MC Mining‘s progress at the Makhado project during the March quarter. This included the suspension of early works and early coal initiatives, as well as the managed tender processes for the selection and appointment of the outsourced mining, plant and laboratory operators at Makhado. The takeover offer also resulted in the cessation of funding activities for the development of the project. Activities are expected to be reinitiated once the takeover offer process is complete. Further, at the Vele Colliery, measures to optimise operations are under consideration. The mining and processing operations at Vele were outsourced to Hlalethembeni Outsource Services in late December 2022, but it experienced operational challenges in attaining the targeted monthly saleable coal production, while unit costs were adversely impacted by the lack of access to rail capacity to transport Vele’s coal to port. The challenges experienced by HOS were exacerbated by the decline in the API4 export thermal coal price during the 2023 calendar year. As a result, HOS exercised the hardship clause in the outsource agreement during December 2023 and commenced downscaling operations at Vele. The downscaling was completed during January. HOS subsequently initiated Operation Shandukani, a production optimisation strategy. The evaluation of these measures is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of the 2024 financial year and is expected to result in improved profitability at the colliery.