A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info

The Department of Energy (DOE) formed eight teams to spur solar power deployment by cutting red tape for residential and small commercial rooftop solar systems.

As part of the DOE’s Rooftop Solar Challenge, these teams will receive about $12 million — matched by over $4 million in outside funding — to streamline and standardize solar permitting, zoning, metering and connection processes for communities across the country.

The challenge is a part of a larger effort to make solar energy more accessible and affordable and position the U.S. as a leader in the rapidly-growing global solar market. Non-hardware, or “soft,” costs like permitting, installation, design and maintenance now account for more than 60 percent of the total cost of installed rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems in the U.S.

Read more at: http://www.elp.com/articles/2013/11/doe-to-cut-red-tape-encourage-solar-energy.html

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, and its consortium partner Bondfield Construction have won an order from Canadian Solar Solutions to supply a 100 megawatt (MW) turnkey photovoltaic (PV) solar project for the Grand Renewable Energy Park in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province. ABB’s order value is around $80 million and was booked in the third quarter.

The plant is part of a $5 billion investment by Samsung Renewable Energy and partners to create a green energy cluster of wind and solar power, sources with the capacity to generate 1,369 MW of renewable energy. The first of these developments includes a 100 MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant and a 150 MW wind farm. Canadian Solar Solutions is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the plant.

Read more at: http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/135937/

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – Nov. 4, 2013) – Prophecy Coal Corp. is pleased to announce that the Company has resumed mining operations at its Ulaan Ovoo (100% interest) coal mine in Mongolia. The mine restart plan has been on time and on budget.

Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20131104-905079.html?dsk=y

Rio Tinto has agreed to sell its majority stake in Australia’s third-largest thermal coal mine to Glencore Xstrata and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation for just over $1 billion, pushing ahead with plans to focus on larger, core operations.

Rio put its 50.1 percent stake in the Clermont mine in Queensland on the block earlier this year, but appetite had been considered by industry advisers to be weak, given a poor outlook for coal prices and high costs in Australia.

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/25/glencore-sumitomo-pay-1-billion-for-rio-coal-mine-stake/

VENETIA (miningweekly.com) – Diversified major Anglo American was giving consideration to building a new thermal coal mine in South Africa, CEO Mark Cutifanihas revealed.

Anglo American Coal already has ten coal mines in South Africa, which produce 59.2-million tons of coal a year, 16-million tons of which are exported.

Speaking to journalists after the launch of the new Venetia underground diamond mine, Cutifani said that the LSE- and JSE-listed company was not focusing only on cost cutting but also on investing.

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/anglo-mulling-new-coal-mine-in-south-africa-2013-10-23

Oct 25 (Reuters) – Japan’s Sumitomo Corp said on Friday it and Glencore Xstrata PLC will buy a 50.1 percent stake in the Clermont coal mine in Australia from Rio Tinto for $1.015 billion.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals, and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2014.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/10/25/riotinto-glencore-clermont-sumitomo-idINL3N0IF37R20131025

KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – India and Indonesia were likely to revive a joint working group on coal to resolve issues surrounding Indian investments in Indonesia’s mining industry.

The decision to revive the joint task force followed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Jakarta, where both sides agreed that out of mutual interest, issues surrounding Indian investments in the Indonesian mining sector needed to be addressed and resolved, a Coal Ministry official said.

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/india-and-indonesia-revived-coal-joint-working-group-2013-10-23

(Reuters) – Global miner BHP Billiton(BHP.AX) said on Monday it has given up nine oil and gas exploration blocks in India due to its inability to carry out exploration operations there.

The company is withdrawing from those blocks because of delays in clearances, according to local media, but BHP would not confirm the reason for its decision to relinquish its interest.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/bhp-india-idINDEE99K05E20131021

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified miner Rio Tinto on Tuesday officially opened the $2-billion extension of its Kestrel coal mine, in central Queensland.

The extension would add 20 years to the life of the mine and increase hard coking coal production to about six-million tonnes a year. The mine started production in July this year.

The mine includes two declines, a new 400 m longwall, infrastructure and upgrades to the existing coal handling and preparation plant. The extension would allow a new series of underground panels to be mined to the south of the existing operation.

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/rio-launches-kestrel-extension-2013-10-15

In June of this year, the B.C. government issued a mining permit to clear the way for Teck to operate an open-pit mine at Quintette, which is forecast to produce three million tonnes a year of metallurgical coal, a key ingredient in the production of steel. But with coal prices down more than 50 per cent over the past couple of years, Teck announced in July that it decided to delay capital spending of $300-million in 2013 and $350-million in the first half of 2014 that had been earmarked for Quintette.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/teck-waiting-for-next-coal-wave-to-reopen-quintette/article14730523/