Burning issues; Can new technology make coal a green fuel for the 21st century?

From The Sunday Times January 27, 2008
Burning issues
Can new technology make coal a green fuel for the 21st century?

by Jonathan Leake

We hear a lot about the threat of climate change, but could we ever do without coal? Last year the world burned 5.3 billion tons of it, representing an 8.8% increase over the previous year and 92% growth over the past 25 years.

Coal is vital – not just to economic growth but for keeping the lights on and people warm. There is growing interest in technologies that might make coal, along with gas and oil, into a green fuel. Here we look at how some of them might work.

Carbon sequestration

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the great white hope of the fossil fuel industries. If it can be made to work economically then, in theory, we could continue burning carbon-based fuels such as coal and gas without accelerating global warming.

In principle CCS is simple. First, CO2 is separated from its sources, such as flue gases, then it’s transported away from where it was generated and finally buried away from the atmosphere, ideally for millions of years. In practice, each of those stages has problems – and underlying them is the issue of how much energy they cost. There is little point in generating carbon-free power if a large chunk of it goes into extracting and pumping to its final resting place. CO2 Robin Irons, who works for E.ON Engineering, the energy company, is tackling such issues. A chemical engineer, he is applying his skills to try to minimise the energy losses of 10%-40% that can result when a traditionally fuelled power station has to deal with its own pollution.

The focus of CCS is going to be on new or refurbished stations. E.ON has planning permission to build a coal-fired plant at Kingsnorth, Kent, one of a generation that will be made ready for carbon capture – although the kit to do this will be fitted only once government policy has become clear, and the final decision to approve the project lies with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Irons, 45, took a degree and PhD at Imperial College London, following which he worked in engineering and research departments providing technical support to coal-fired power stations. He found his role changing as the construction of a new generation of cleaner power stations began to loom large. “We’re having to consider building large chemical plants to strip CO2 from flue gases, and that’s a new departure for the industry,” says Irons.

Six of Britain’s coal-fired power stations are getting upgrades that will lift their efficiency and make them ready for fitting with carbon capture technology. Elsewhere, progress is slow. Last spring Progressive Energy, a venture involving Centrica, owner of British Gas, announced plans to build the first CCS power station in Britain. The coal-fired plant, to be built on Teesside, needed government support to get off the ground. But six months later the government published its technical requirements for supporting such projects, which excluded the approach planned by Progressive. “It was a great disappointment and now it looks as if the project will never happen,” says a Centrica spokesman.

There are other problems. Designing and building sequestration plants on the scale needed would require huge investment. And sequestration is useful only on large combustion plants and would never be viable for cars, homes or businesses – the source of about 70% of emissions.

Coal gasification

In gasification, coal is heated in the presence of steam and a restricted amount of oxygen. This means that, rather than burning, the coal breaks down, producing “syngas”, containing mainly hydrogen plus some carbon monoxide. This can then be burned in a gas turbine to make electricity.

The system can be made more efficient by capturing waste heat from the gas turbine to drive a steam turbine. This can push efficiency levels well over 50% – comparable with gas. The CO2 emerges as a concentrated gas stream, making it easier to capture and sequester underground. Other pollutants are easily removed.

That’s the theory – and interest in it is growing. A recent report by the former Department of Trade and Industry says: “UK coal resources suitable for deep-seam gasification on land are estimated at 17 billion tons (300 years’ supply at current consumption) and this excludes at least a similar tonnage where the coal is unverifiable. The largest areas are in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, the Dee area and Warwickshire, with smaller deposits in central Scotland and south Wales.”

There are two basic ways of gasifying coal. One is to dig it up, take it to the surface and treat it in combustion chambers. Adapting to this technique would be within the abilities of Britain’s power utilities. The other is to burn the coal underground by pumping oxygen and steam into a seam, igniting it and then capturing the resulting gases. This would require precision drilling but we have the relevant skills thanks to the North Sea oil and gas industry.

The Coal Authority, which oversees the British coal industry, says: “The concept of gasifying coal underground and bringing the energy to the surface as a gas for use in heating or power generation has considerable attraction. Underground coal gasification has the potential to provide a clean source of energy from seams where traditional mining methods are impossible or uneconomical.”

RWE, the German owner of Npower, one of Britain’s leading generators, plans an underground gasification trial plant in Germany. Kevin Akhurst works for RWE Npower, generator of about 10% of Britain’s power, where he oversees the development of renewable and clean energy.

New technologies that extract energy from coal without releasing carbon will be crucial, he believes: “In Britain, our focus is on absorption postcombustion CO2 is stripped technology [where CO2 from flue gases].”

Coal-bed methane

Methane explosions have been the bane of the coal mining industry for centuries. The gas forms, alongside coal, from the decay of organic matter and is released by mining operations, causing a serious hazard.

Even today, when most deep coal mines have closed, the gas is a problem. Reports commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from environmental consultants White Young Green in 2005 found that the UK’s abandoned coal mines emit more than 60,000 tons of methane per year. Since methane is a powerful global warming gas, these emissions are equivalent to approximately 1.4m tons of CO2 Such reserves are proving a valuable resource in their own right, with private sector operators tapping the methane from a number of abandoned coal mines around Britain to generate electricity. There is greater potential in extracting methane from unworked coal deposits – so-called coal-bed methane. There are vast reserves of this gas trapped in the billions of tons of coal still lying under Britain.

Until now it has been too difficult to access but the engineering and drilling techniques perfected in the North Sea for accessing deep deposits of oil and gas are changing that. UK Coal, Britain’s largest producer, with four deep mines, seven surface mines and more than 3,000 employees, has been using both approaches. “We have developed and implemented projects to maximise savings, generate revenue and significantly reduce coal mine greenhouse gas emissions,” it says.

Tower Colliery workers leave with heads held high

Tower Colliery workers leave with heads held high

Jan 27 2008 by James McCarthy, Wales On Sunday

A 240-strong band of brothers at the Tower Colliery have hung up their helmets for the last time, but JAMES MCCARTHY reports they can all leave with their heads held high...

VICTORIES don’t come much sweeter.

Thirteen years after being told by taskmasters British Coal their pit could not turn a profit, the miners of Tower Colliery have hung up their pit helmets and lamps for the last time.

On their terms. For the right reasons. The mine really is empty now.

More than seven million tonnes – £300m worth – of coal has been sold around the world since this 240-strong band of brothers were told it wasn’t economically viable.

They have left their pit for the last time with their heads held high, their work an indictment against the then Tory Government’s pit-closure policy.

The world and his wife turned up to say goodbye. There were more photographers pushing to get the best shot than there were miners to pose for pictures on Friday.

A tiny woman from Channel Four News looked fabulously out of place, tottering about the stark Hirwaun landscape in a pink overcoat. Another almost took my eye out, thrusting a mic under pit chairman Tyrone O’Sullivan’s nose.

London media daaah-lings with cut-glass accents strained to understand Valleys voices.

And the 62-year-old (below) took it all in his stride, graciously complying with countless requests for interviews from radio, TV and newspapers, joyfully clenching his fist at the behest of snappers with absurdly long lenses.

“There are mixed emotions. We have created history. We have proved working people can change the world,” he said.

Facing a bank of cameras he added: “This brings back huge memories. I have marched like this through seven strikes as well and each one we have tried to make a difference.

“Miners have never sat back and let the world change them. We have tried to make the world change and make it a better place for all.”

Les Jones, 55, worked 27 years at the coal face. He said: “I have very fond memories. There have been lots of various managers saying they are going to get me, but I’m still here.

“There will be life after Tower. I hope to do something, I don’t know what. It might well be the time to put my feet up. But then, I’ve got ’er indoors nagging me!”

Anyone with coal on their faces was ripe to be pounced on by the media scrum.

Stuart Griffin, eyes shining through a layer of soot, was resigned to the closure. The 49-year-old said: “We’ve had a good time here, but we all knew it was coming to an end. But when it comes to the end, it is a horrible feeling.

“We did not know when we came back here in January 1995 whether we would be here in February 1995, but we are still here 13 years down the line.

“But now it’s gone that is the end of it. We might shed a few tears after a few pints, but at the moment everyone is happy on the outside.”

He turned and walked toward the pithead, stopping for more pictures for snappers keen to get themselves an iconic image.

Rhondda Cynon Taf mayor Jane Ward was among the hundreds who turned up to say farewell. The canteen was packed with families chatting over steaming cups of tea. Outside children clutched parents for fear of losing them in the swarming crowd.

“This is the last of the deep mines in Wales,” she said.

“I’m sorry that after all these years we are seeing the end of it in these valleys. I’m delighted the boys have been able to hold on this long and prove the Government wrong.

“A few more should have done that a few years ago and we would be in a better situation. I would like to wish them all the best.” Placards bearing pictures of the works with the words ‘Goodbye Tower’ and ‘Thank you Tower Colliery’ were waved by workers and their families.

The old scarlet NUM Tower Lodge banner, made famous when the men walked back to work under it 13 years ago, was raised for the last time for a symbolic march to the gate.

John Woods will be helping man the pit for the next few months as equipment is salvaged for sale.

The 57-year-old dad-of-four first went underground at 15. He said: “It was a success for the last 13 years.

“We have not had any lay offs. We have always had a weekly wage.

“It is sad, but we have accepted it has got to close.

He added: “In the backs of our minds we knew we could do it if we stuck together. And the 200-odd that got took on in the beginning knew they would make it a success, and they did.”

After the march everyone made their way down to the nearby Penywaun Club – where the decision to buy the pit was made – for beer and sandwiches. Photos of miners adorn the rooms there. One wall is given up to a mural of a red dragon clasping a rugby ball. A glitter ball hangs from the ceiling.

In the hall, hundreds of men and women sipped pints, bemused by the media frenzy around them.

MP Ann Clywd took to the stage. She had been loved here ever since she spent 27 hours down the mine, refusing to leave until the Coal Board agreed to save the pit.

She said: “MPs in other coal communities are really very envious of Tower. They always say to me ‘I wish we had done the same thing’. I say you would have needed the men of Tower and their families to do the same thing.”

There was rapturous applause. Tyrone O’Sullivan was next to speak, paying tribute to the “finest bunch of men I’ve ever worked with”.

Recalling the fight to keep their livelihoods, he told the packed room: “They said ‘Mr O’Sullivan, stop fighting. It is impossible to get the coal out. And that’s not the bad news. The bad news is that no-one wants to buy the coal’.

“From that scenario over the next five months we went out and signed a contract with a company for £9m per year for five years.”

There were more cheers.

Next NUM Tower Lodge chairman Dai Davies called his colleagues “the bravest men I’ve ever known”.

The 63-year-old, who had worked at Tower since 1965, said: “We have come to the end of production and there is no Tory Government closing us. British Coal have not closed us. No-one outside Tower has closed us. We have made our decision. We have got to the end with our pride intact. With our dignity intact.”

Again, the room filled with clapping and shouting.

Mike Barnes, 56, was hoping to get a new job at the drift mine in Aberpergwm. He said: “All the guys here in this hall, when we heard we had the mine were all overjoyed. It was like another Christmas present at the time.”

His wife Dawn, 52, said: “It’s sad, it’s the end of an era.

“It has been a big mining community and with it being the last pit you are not going to get these people gathering together anymore.

“With the pit closing you’re not going to get these social gatherings, so friendships will dwindle as well.”

That may be. But about 70 of the men will work in the nearby Aberpergwm mine and another 50 will go to the Unity mine.

And Tyrone O’Sullivan is hoping to create 1,000 jobs on the land left behind.

Tower is gone. But its spirit will live on forever.

The pits and the pendulum

The pits and the pendulum
GUY DIXON
(gdixon@scotlandonsunday.com)

FROM his constituency office in Dalkeith, David Hamilton gazes out over a town once known for coal mining but now seen by many as a place you pass through quickly en route to Edinburgh.

The Labour MP for Midlothian knows better than most of his colleagues at Westminster what impact the collapse of the miners' strike in 1985 had on the towns south of Edinburgh that were reliant on coal, such as Dalkeith, Newtongrange and Monktonhall.

Between 1965 and 1984, Hamilton was a miner, working in collieries in England and Scotland and being arrested when leading strikes against pits being closed as the industry faded.

Hamilton regrets the demise of the industry that once employed millions in Britain and helped unite communities such as Dalkeith, and he claims that it can come back from the dead.

"We have only extracted 15% to 20% of reserves in the UK," he says. "Many of our EU colleagues are envious of [our coal reserves]. I believe there's a future for coal. The public and private sector should sit down together and talk about investment. But it won't happen if Scotland has a different energy policy from the rest of the UK."

The latter comment is a criticism of the Scottish National Party's plans not to follow proposals being considered in Westminster to develop the next generation of nuclear power plants.

First Minister Alex Salmond said last week that he believed use of so-called "clean coal technology" could contribute to the country's energy needs and vowed to resurrect deep mining in Scotland.

The news followed the decision by Spanish group Iberdrola - which owns ScottishPower - to invest in new clean-coal technology at its two coal-fired stations at Longannet and at Cockenzie.

Deep-mined Scottish coal has a high sulphur content and strict European rules banned using high-sulphur coal in power stations but clean-coal technology - which extracts 90% of the sulphur - in theory makes it acceptable to the green brigade.

Salmond said: "If you can use clean-coal technology, coal has a dynamic future. It means coal, from being environmentally unacceptable, is becoming environmentally attractive."

The comments fired the starting gun on what could be a new era for coal mining in Britain. But as economists and politicians consider resurrecting the industry, others are wondering whether the numbers add up and whether extracting and burning coal on a major commercial scale in Britain is all just hot air.

Coal has been on the back foot in Britain since the defeat of the miners in 1985. Now an industry that once employed close to a million pays the wages of a few thousand and there are just eight deep mines left in Britain. There are none in Scotland.

But rising demand for energy - fuelled by booming Chinese and Indian economies - has seen a revival in the worldwide coal industry. Much of the world's cheap coal comes from huge opencast mines in South Africa and Australia, and Britain imports the bulk of the stuff it burns.

Northern England, Scotland and parts of Wales have extensive coal reserves, but deep mining is hugely expensive. Opencast mining is more cost-effective but unpopular as it destroys vast tracts of countryside.

Juliette Lowes, partner in energy and natural resources at KPMG, says British mines would be competing with those in South America, parts of the former USSR and South Africa, and points out that foreign companies often face less regulation, lower labour costs and smaller overheads.

But Lowes believes coal could be a useful "short-term" fix to Britain's looming energy crunch and could keep the country powered before the next generation of nuclear plants are up and running. She says: "If you believe the nuclear option ultimately will happen, this could be a five- to 10-year opportunity for coal. Let's investigate opportunities for coal in Scotland. But don't stride in thinking it's going to be easy."

She also pours cold water on suggestions that the industry could ever employ great numbers of people. Mining techniques have come a long way since the 1980s and the industry is today much less labour intensive. "If you look at the number of mines in the UK, it's handfuls, and in any one mine it would be hundreds of people, not thousands," she says.

But this has not stopped some Scottish companies from investing in coal. The Scottish Resources Group owns Scottish Coal and supplies more than four million tonnes a year in the UK.

Edinburgh property group Miller has recently won planning permission to develop an opencast mine in south Wales to supply the nearby Aberthaw power station.

Lowes says it is likely that if mining were to be resurrected in Britain, it would be overseas companies that would take a lead. "Large international companies would be better placed to offset some of the higher costs in the UK with their overseas operations," she says.

Stuart Haszeldine, professor of geology at Edinburgh University, says the numbers could stack up for deep mining - but only with a level playing field. A coal plant would cost £1bn to build and a gas-fired alternative just £400m, while a nuclear station would be the more expensive option at £1.5bn. But the nuclear industry is likely to receive preferential treatment from the government over coal for political and environmental reasons, not least to overcome planning objections, and that could deter investment in mining.

He says: "To do nuclear power, you have got to build six or eight stations to replace what's going offline. If you want to do that, you may have to give preferential treatment to developers. That means people doing coal would be more wary."

He believes an answer could come from new methods of extracting energy from coal, including combusting it underground and pumping it to the surface. But Haszeldine says these technologies are unproven.

David Hamilton insists that with a little imaginative thinking and public and private sector money, mining has a future in Britain at a time when security of supply is important in an uncertain world.

He says: "It's not just local jobs [that could be created] - it's about the long-term prosperity of this country. We are moving away from self-supply and we cannot depend on other countries.

"There needs to be a review of open cast policy and deep mining. You take coal from the surface and drive deep mines underground and one would pay for the other. It gives prosperity and employment."

Half of UK homes in mining subsidence risk areas

Half of UK homes in mining subsidence risk areas

New research shows half of British homes are in former and current coal mining areas where the risk of subsidence is greater.

This year the cost of subsidence is expected to hit £340 million, with the dry summer exacerbating the risk.

Mining creates a risk of subsidence as disused shafts can cause fractures in the earth above, while dry weather affects homes by causing clay to shrink .

The Coal Authority and British Geological Survey have now launched the Ground Stablilty Report that shows homeowners around the country the level of subsidence risks from coal mining and natural ground instability.

Joe Dearden, head of customer services at The Coal Authority, said: "Over 50,000 insurance claims are made by homeowners every year, which can take anything from one to three years to settle.

"Many of these problems could have been averted if buyers were properly informed."

He went on to say that homebuyers need to ensure that their solicitor carry out authoritative property searches to avoid "the misery of subsidence damage".

Jan Boothroyd, deputy chief executive of the National Land Information Service, said: "Subsidence is a serious problem for homeowners and with increased development on brownfield sites, the problem is only set to increase.

"Homeowners could lose out on thousands of pounds, and suffer severe disruption if potential problems are not identified prior to the purchase."

© Adfero Ltd

Maintenance work at the National Coal Mining Museum for England

The National Coal Mining Museum for England in Wakefield, would like to inform visitors that the underground tour has be closed for 2 days in March. On the 29 and 30 of March, the cage which carries visitors down the 140 metre mine shaft will be undergoing maintenance work.

The Museum would still like to encourage visitors to enjoy the extensive exhibitions and activities available above ground. Why not take a look round the latest temporary exhibition by local artist Harry Malkin, visit Hope Pit, the second colliery site at the Museum, or see how the pit ponies are enjoying their retirement.

The Underground Tour will be available again from the 31 March, just in time for a packed schedule of Easter activities. Easter fun will start at the Museum on 2 April running through till 13 April. A number of activities will take place over Easter including the Easter Bunny and his Easter Egg Trail, family craft activities and a new nature trail. Maurice the Miner, the Museum’s mascot, will also be on site along with our Living History Interpreters.

For further information, please contact the Museum on 01924 848806.

Organic Portal Launch

My Organic Portal Website was Launched on the 17th February 2007.

The free web portal that helps you to find Organic Food & Produce in the UK, here you will find information about all things Organic - Supplier Directory, News, Articles, Calendar of Events and Links.

Website is  http://www.organicportal.co.uk

MPs want generators to pay more for coal

MPs want generators to pay more for coal
Simon McGee, Political Editor

YORKSHIRE MPs will today call on electricity giants to plough some of their "huge profits" back into paying a fair price for domestic coal and help to secure what remains of Britain's coal mining industry.

Selby Labour MP John Grogan will lay down a motion in the Commons warning that the viability of British coal production is being jeopardised because energy companies are paying below market prices for it.

The motion will stress that power generators EDF Energy, EON, and Drax Power Plc – owner of the Drax Power station at Selby – comprise 86 per cent of UK Coal's business and that they are benefiting from the fact that prices were artificially low when they signed contacts to buy coal from UK Coal.

MPs will call on the companies "to act now and reassess the price they pay for coal mined in the UK in the light of international prices and import capacity constraints".
Mr Grogan said the "knock down prices" meant UK Coal could not invest sufficiently in its six remaining collieries – three of which are in Yorkshire – and he wanted the motion to spur the Government into acting as an intermediary to "bang heads together" over payment.
He stressed that while UK Coal tried to cope with low prices, domestic energy prices had risen by 36 per cent between spring 2003 and September 2006, "generating huge profits for the power companies".

In 2005, EDF Energy made a 14 per cent profit on revenue, while Drax declared profits of £355m, delivering a 39 per cent profit on revenue.
"Paying a fair price to UK Coal is a sensible business decision as it will allow UK Coal to invest in new domestic production which will secure a flexible, local, energy source in the UK," he said.
If UK Coal went under, foreign coal suppliers would have UK electricity generators over a barrel, he said.

MPs backing the motion include Barnsley West and Penistone MP Mick Clapham. It will ask Ministers to bring electricity generators together with UK Coal to discuss possible renegotiation of existing contracts.

Yorkshire Post

Digging for Northern Ireland's gold

Digging for Northern Ireland's gold
By Clare Matheson, Business reporter, BBC News, Northern Ireland

Nestled in the green hills near Omagh in Northern Ireland is a vast mudpit that mining firm Galantas hope will soon - literally - become a goldmine.

The temporary buildings serving as the firm's headquarters are buzzing with staff and the noise of digging.

Just minutes away, along a path only traversable by a 4x4 offroader, is a vein of ore the group hopes will be producing as much as 30,000 ounces of gold a year.

As vice president of exploration Moe Lavigne tells the story of the group's beginnings, it seems as though the firm has had the luck of the Irish in getting off the ground.

Originally set up "for tax purposes" in the late 1980s by mining giant Rio Tinto, the site was later acquired by Jack Gunter who had been planning to retire from the mining giant.

"Rio Tinto were here as they used to have a zinc mine in Swansea, which had stopped production and so their tax treatment was going to change as it was a UK company with no UK mine," says Mr Lavigne.

"So they found this site, and started a four-year exploration, including tests and so on.

"Then the tax laws changed and Rio decided it no longer wanted the site."

'Piecemeal' funding

But while Jack got a lucky break there were still problems setting up the business, with money being one of the key hurdles.

"The reason it got off the ground is Robert Phelps underwrote it with £1m of his own money," Mr Lavigne adds.

Robert Phelps had already bought out the Gwynfynydd gold mine in Wales forming Welsh Gold.

Although the site stopped production in 1998, Mr Phelps recently said the mine was still bringing in a "modest profit" each year, mainly through the sale of premium priced "pure Welsh gold jewellery".

The tie-up was very beneficial as Mr Phelps could bring his expertise of managing small mines and marketing niche jewellery to Galantas.

But financing has admittedly been a "piecemeal" process so far.

The group has funded itself through stock issues - it is worth around 25m Canadian dollars (£11.7m; $22.3m) on the Toronto stock exchange and is also listed on the UK's Alternative Investment Market.

But, the Canadian float came just months before the Bre-X scandal, which turned prospective investors away in droves and led to a collapse in world gold prices.

Bre-X had claimed to have found the world's biggest gold deposit in Indonesia - a claim which later turned out to be false. Bre-X had found not an ounce of gold.

Lucky break

Locals have also raised fears about environmental damage. There are strong fears about the use of cyanide to "leech" gold from rock during the refining process, with many critics complaining that the mine's surroundings would suffer.

Under the strict terms of its licence Galantas has promised to keep hold of the peat it has removed and will replace it when the company ends its operations there.

A factor that worked in the firm's favour was the fact that the gold deposit was of such a high grade that explosives would not have to be used to extract it - a key consideration in the 1990s when the IRA was still in operation.

Instead of detonating the seams, the gold rock could simply be dug out of the ground.

So, after a "lengthy and elaborate" planning process, Mr Gunter's firm finally got the full go-ahead to develop the site in 2002. Now after further exploration, examination and preparation production is set to begin soon.

Rich seam

Out on the open-cast site, the JCBs and tractors are uncovering the first vein to be exploited.

Erupting from the muddy hole, like the back of a whale, is the Kearney seam, littered with blue and red markings.

"It's a very rich seam," Mr Lavigne says. "We'll generate about two to three ounces of gold per tonne of rock - each tonne will be worth about £200, and will cost £75 to process. So we'll make a profit of £125 per tonne."

He expects the mine to go into full production by the end of the year.

By then the processing hangar will be in operation, grinding and sifting the Kearney rock for pyrite (fool's gold) and gold itself.

But Galantas will not just be flogging its gold to the world market. The leftover rock can be sold on to building and construction firms as aggregate, and there's even silver and lead in the rock.

Dual markets

Galantas - which is Gaelic for elegant thing - is also selling high-end jewellery.

Its "free gold", the stuff that is shaken out on site at its processing plant, will be used to make 18 carat and 20 carat exclusive trinkets. The group already has seven stores around Ireland and markets on the internet.

"We get a very large premium on protecting our Irishness," says Mr Lavigne.

"We've already sold £300,000 of jewellery from the test rock we sent to South Africa - 85% of those sales were wedding bands.

"And there's a big market out there. Not just Ireland, but a huge market on the eastern seaboard of the USA."

Compared with many of the mining giants, Galantas could be considered a small operation. But they have big hopes for the future.

"There's a very good chance this mine will be operating in perpetuity, making between £5m and £8m profit per year on 35,000 ounces of gold," says Mr Lavigne.

"Mining companies always want to be bigger and our future is in going underground," he explains. "We've identified a possible 15 veins on the site."

Apart from this glittering endorsement, when mining finally does begin at the site, Galantas will have the distinction of being the only working goldmine in the UK.

GALANTAS TIMELINE
1985-1990 - Rio Tinto explores area in Omagh and discovers gold
1990 - Jack Gunter forms Omagh Minerals and buys mining rights and licences to 189sq km area from Rio Tinto
1996 - Company renamed Galantas Gold and listed in Toronto stock exchange
1997 - Robert Phelps takes majority stake in firm after pumping £1m into business
2000 - Test gold recovered from samples sent to South Africa goes on sale
2002 -Full planning permission, including more than 30 conditions, given for site.
2006 - Lists on AIM index in London

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/6037469.stm
Published: 2006/10/30 23:59:59 GMT
© BBC MMVI

Reopen the Hatfield colliery in Yorkshire

Former RJB Mining and UK Coal chief, Richard Budge has unveiled plans to reopen the Hatfield colliery in Yorkshire, UK by May of next year as a reflection of the revived fortunes in the UK coal industry.

Mr Budge – or King Coal as he’s dubbed due to him once buying up most of the UK coal industry – has taken advantage of continued high international coal prices and governmental concern over energy security by breathing life into the previously mothballed Yorkshire colliery.

With financial backing being filtered through his recently floated new company – Powerfuel – King Coal is planning to mine 27 Mt of coal at Hatfield between 2007 and 2023 and there are plans in the pipeline for the construction of a clean coal power station on the Hatfield site with operation projected to be by 2009.

Despite previous problems to mine at Hatfield, Mr Budge is bullish about its resurgence as an increase in the price of coal over the past three years has meant UK coal mines are more economically viable than they were during the UK Government’s last energy review in 2003.

However, despite the return to favour of coal the UK industry is still far from being a global contender as the country’s few remaining mines still face financial challenges and plans to open new mines are often thwarted by harsh planning policies.

But Mr Budge remains upbeat over the outlook of the UK commenting, “there is every prospect” of new mines opening given the improved market and speaking in the Financial Times he said: “The market has come to the project. Coal prices are 50% higher – US$60/t not US$30/t – and gas prices are 50p a therm not 20p a therm.”

Higher coal prices mean mining coal is now more lucrative and the steep rise in the price of gas signifies coal is still a relatively cheap option for power companies.

In 2001 Mr Budge bought the Hatfield colliery, but after only three short years the pit was closed due to a fall in coal prices and a delay in a governmental subsidiary scheme for the industry.

Speaking with Coal Magazine, John Delaney, corporate affairs manager at The Coal Authority expresses his delight at the reopening of Hatfield: “We are more than pleased,” he said. “We are always looking for an economically viable development and this is a tangible way forward for the industry here in the UK.”

But is it? UK Coal, the biggest coal produce in the country, has warned that the much-trumpeted renaissance of the UK coal industry could be about to come to a shuddering halt unless power companies pay more for their fuel (see Comment, p3, issue 10).

In a submission to the government’s energy review the producer is threatening to close five of its seven pits and cut 1,500 jobs unless it can force through price rises with some of its major customers like Eon, Drax and Electricité de France.

Thoresby, Welbeck and Kellingley are being touted as possible pit closures in the “near future”, in addition to Harworth and Rossington, accounting for 233 Mt of reserves.

Despite the return of coal, UK Coal has been unable to take advantage of these rises because it is locked into long-term contracts.

Talks have opened with power companies, with the outcome of which being vital to ensure the continued viability of the UK coal industry.

Worryingly on top of this, during his speech to the Confederation of British Industry on May 16, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, said: “I received the first cut of the Review. The facts are stark. By 2025, if current policy is unchanged, there will be a dramatic gap on our targets to reduce CO2 emissions; we will become heavily dependent on gas; and at the same time move from being 80/90%, self-reliant in gas to 80/90% dependent on foreign imports, mostly from the Middle East and Africa and Russia.

“These facts put the replacement of nuclear power stations, a big push on renewables and a step-change on energy efficiency, engaging both business and consumers, back on the agenda with a vengeance. If we don’t take these long-term decisions now, we will be committing a serious dereliction of our duty to the future of this country.”

Commenting on Mr Blair’s speech, Steve Kemp NUM national secretary, said: “Whilst we are waiting for the results of the Energy Review later this summer it is nevertheless extremely disappointing that the Prime Minister has once again ignored, in his speech to the CBI, the vital and essential role that British deep-mined coal can play as part of the nation’s energy requirements.

“We would urge the prime minister to carefully read our submission to the Energy Review and invest in the clean coal technologies now available and those being developed and let British deep-mined coal play a full part in sustaining our energy supply without the need to rely on imported energy sources.” (See p21 for full comment.)

It is common knowledge that Mr Blair is a supporter of nuclear power and it is his support, which could ultimately end the much-hyped rebirth of the UK coal industry. Only time will tell if this is so.

By Bree Freeman

Editor, Coal Magazine

One of the problems with a Blog

Earlier I mentioned that I was setting up a Database of Mining terms. Unfortunately I didn't include a list of coal mining terms that I have already.

If I put a list on this Blog it would go on for ever, how do I rectify this problem.

Bear with me and I hope to let you know soon.