Vitol invests heavily to reopen an Australian coal mine. + 17% of fossil production
Vitol, a leading commodities trading company, will finance the restart of a coal mine in Australia that has not been operational for 16 years.
The company will provide $60 million for the Dartbrook mine, which will be operated by a joint venture between Australian Pacific Coal and Tetra Resources. The two plan to start production in the first quarter of 2024, Bloomberg reports.
The joint venture has also signed a sales and marketing agreement with the major commodities trading company, which will provide 100% of the cash needed to restart the mine, Australian Pacific Coal said.
Thermal coal prices remain robust and we have received numerous inbound inquiries for Dartbrook coal, said Ayten Saridas, interim CEO of Australian Pacific Coal, as quoted by Bloomberg. “We are confident in Vitol's marketing capabilities and look forward to working with them to bring this world-class asset back to full operational status.”
The mine could contribute to an expected 17% expansion of Australia's coal production in the 12 months to next June, totaling 252 million tonnes.
Coal has been a big target for transition advocates and governments that have signed up to a rapid transition, but demand for this raw material is increasing in developing countries, particularly China and India: the powers of Asia.
China has built even more coal production capacity than it has installed with wind and solar systems, and India recently said it will triple its coal mining output to meet its growing energy needs. The additional Australian coal will help increase energy production in China, a favorite destination for Australian coal.
This has come in the context of growing calls for the phasing out of coal and all hydrocarbons in general, a topic expected to be discussed at COP28 in Dubai which starts today. Even if in words we try to eliminate fossil fuels, in reality the world of energy is going elsewhere.
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Article Vitol invests heavily to reopen Australian coal mine. + 17% of fossil production comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/vitol-investe-pesantemente-per-riaprire-una-miniera-di-carbone-australiana-17-della-produzione-di-fossile/ on Thu, 30 Nov 2023 16:24:55 +0000.