New Zealand to expand coking coal exports with new project

Preliminary exploration work carried out by Solid Energy, New Zealand’s state-owned coal producer, indicates there is potential for a combined underground and open-cut mining operation for the Liverpool project producing 500,000 mt/year of hard coking coal for the seaborne-traded market over a period of up to 20 years.

Platts reports Solid Energy said in its annual report in October that its exports of coking coal were 2 million mt in the year period ended June 2011, half of which went to Indian customers, and one-third of its shipments was semi-soft coking coal and two-thirds was hard coking coal.

MINING.com reported on 30 October giant Chinese state-owned Shanxi Coal is understood to be in the running to buy New Zealand’s Pike River Coal as part of a joint bid with Solid Energy.

One Indian company is believed to have pulled out and another Indian company was still understood to be in the running. The state-owned mine operated by Solid Energy was put up for sale as part of a privatization programme by the New Zealand government and after an enormous methane explosion ripped through the mine near Greymouth on November 19 last year killing 29 men.