China’s top coal firms lean into power as mining profits slip
Mining costs are rising because of aging deposits that demand deeper bores and increased maintenance to avoid accidents.
KPMG, liquidators for open cast mining firm Scottish Coal, has named County Durham-based Hargreaves Services as the preferred bidder for some of the company’s assets.
The BBC reports the sale would take at least a month to be finalized. Hargreaves also bought mines from of Scotland’s second biggest open-cast mining firm, ATH Resources, when it was liquidated last year.
In April the Scottish Government announce it was setting up a new trust to revive the country’s coal industry in the wake of the Scottish Coal collapse.
About 600 coal workers have already lost their jobs – the company operated six open-pit mines across the country.
First Minister Fergus Ewing told UPI the government will do everything possible to secure the continued operation of the business on a sustainable basis and that is one the main reasons it has created the new trust.
The nation’s coal industry provides 4,500 direct and indirect jobs and is worth $760 million per year.
Scotland has one of the most advanced clean energy programs, with the amount of renewable energy generated in the country reaching a historical record of more than 14,600 gigawatt hours in 2012.
The nation’s goal is to generate 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2015 and 100% by 2020.
