6911 search
Westmoreland Coal Co.
AMEX WLB 0,15 US$ -87,60%
Logo

US officials say they wrongly announced coal mine expansion

Publié le 28 décembre 2017

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — U.S. officials said Thursday that they misspoke when they recently announced they had approved an expansion of a Montana coal mine that would keep it operating for another 19 years.

U.S. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift said the 60-million-ton mine expansion is under review. In an email, she blamed "internal miscommunication" for the incorrect announcement last Friday about Westmoreland Coal Company's Rosebud Mine.

Officials with Englewood, Colorado-based Westmoreland didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. The company's stock price jumped 11 percent Tuesday after Friday's inaccurate statement from the Interior Department.

Westmoreland has seen its stock price plummet over the past year, from more than $18 per share to a little over $1, prompting speculation it could follow other coal producers into bankruptcy. It settled at $1.30 at closing Thursday.

The Interior Department merely plans to release a draft study of the expansion for 45 days of public review and comment, Swift said Thursday by email. She wasn't sure when the public comment period would occur.

Most coal mined in the U.S. West belongs to the federal government. The planned study is part of a government process that typically takes several years and culminates with the coal being offered at auction. The auctions rarely draw more than one bidder besides the owner of the mine adjacent to the coal.

Sometimes, though, a competing company submits the highest bid. Occasionally, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management determines the bids are too low and doesn't award the lease to anybody.

The Rosebud Mine supplies coal to the 2,100-megawatt power plant in Colstrip, Montana, one of the largest in the western U.S. The plant, owned predominantly by Puget Sound Energy, provides power to customers across the Pacific Northwest.

The expansion would add 10.5 square miles (27 square kilometers) to the 40-square-mile (104-square kilometer) strip mine and would help keep the mine operating after the power plant shuts down two of its four generating units in 2022 as planned.

Les autres articles de la compagnie
Westmoreland reports 1Q loss
Westmoreland reports 4Q loss
Why Analysts Turned Bearish on TECK after Its 4Q16 Earnings
Arch Coal Beats Analyst’s 4Q16 Revenue Estimates
What Could Drive Alliance Resource Partners Stock in 2017?
Dans la même rubrique
China approves 4 mln tns coal mine in Shanxi province
20/12/17 03:50
Big Chinese coal-to-chemicals project starts commercial oper
18/12/17 04:02
ArcelorMittal says Kazakh coal miners end strike
15/12/17 07:23
ArcelorMittal coal miners widen strike in Kazakhstan
12/12/17 15:36
UPDATE 1-ArcelorMittal miners stage sit-in at four Kazakh co
11/12/17 09:04
ArcelorMittal's coal miners stage sit-in at four mines in Ka
11/12/17 08:04
Articles en illimité et contenus premium Je m'abonne
Editoriaux
et Nouvelles
Actions
Minières
Or et
Argent
Marchés La Cote
search 6911
search