Twenty-two dead in southwest China coal mine accident

BEIJING: Twenty-two people were killed in an accident at a coal mine in the southwest Chinese city of Chongqing on Tuesday, state media reported.

The accident at the Yanshitai coal mine in Chongqing municipality´s Wansheng district occurred at around 5.40pm and was described as a "gas incident" by local authorities, official news agency Xinhua said.

Rescuers have recovered the bodies of all the missing miners, the news agency reported, citing local authorities.

Six of the 28 miners who were working in the shaft at the time of the incident managed to escape, Xinhua said.

The coal mine is owned by state-owned Nantong Mining Company, Xinhua reported.

Mining accidents are common in China, the world´s largest consumer of coal, where mine operators often skirt safety regulations.

The accident comes after 20 people died in April when a coal mine in China´s southwest Yunnan province suddenly flooded, leaving miners trapped.

Last year, China recorded 589 mining-related accidents, leaving 1,049 people dead or missing, according to the government. But both the number of accidents and fatalities were down more than 24 percent from 2012. (AFP)

PM Nawaz inaugurates coal power project in Sahiwal

SAHIWAL: Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif laid the foundation stone of two coal based power plants in Sahiwal on Friday, Geo News reported.

Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif was accompanied by Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif and Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali.

The project will be completed in 2016 with the cooperation of China and the plants will generate 1320 megawatt electricity collectively once functional.

Addressing from the ceremony, PM Nawaz said that Gwadar will be developed to the level of Dubai and Singapore.

He said that the country inherited several challenges including energy crisis and the government has worked consistently to overcome these problems.

He further said that Sahiwal will be benefited from the motorway that will be built from Karachi to Lahore.

Delayed clearances result in loss of 12 mt of coal production

 

The Hindu Delays in environmental and forest clearances occurred mostly in the Bhubaneswar-based Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. (MCL), which accounted for 10.5 million tonnes of the 12 million tonnes lost.

Around 12 million tonnes of coal was lost due to the absence of regulatory clearances in 2013-14 The Hindu has learnt.

This accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the 19.5 million tonne shortfall reported by Coal India Ltd (CIL) in the just closed financial year.

Enquiries revealed that of the 19.5 million tonnes, five million tonnes was lost due to Cyclone Phailin, two million tonnes due to CIL’s internal reasons, while as much as 12 million tonnes was lost due to delays in environment and forest clearances by the Central and State governments.

Delays in environmental and forest clearances occurred mostly in the Bhubaneswar-based Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. (MCL), which accounted for 10.5 million tonnes of the 12 million tonnes lost. However, it also occurred in Northern Coalfields Ltd based in Varanasi and South Eastern Coalfields Ltd based in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur.

The single largest loss, of 6 million tonnes, was due to the delay in forest clearance at the Bharatpur Colliery in MCL.

“Since we already had on hand the Stage I clearances, we had expected the Stage II clearance, which is really just a formality, by October 2013. But this came in February 2014. We had environment clearance for 15 million tonnes but we had land only for 6 million tonnes and needed forest clearance for the remaining portion,” a senior official said, who did not wish to be identified.

“In a similar manner, we lost production at the mines of Lakhanpur, also in MCL where we cut back our production from a potential of 40,000 tonnes daily to 2,000 tonnes just because the clearances were not in place,” sources said, adding that nearly 3.75 million tonnes was lost in this case.

Chasing a stiff target of 507 million tonnes in the current fiscal, CIL has decided to pursue the respective State governments for the clearances, which are often delayed due to bureaucratic reasons.

South Africa can help Pakistan in coal, power industry: Envoy

KARACHI: High Commissioner of South Africa in Pakistan Mpenduio here on Thursday said his country can assist Pakistan in coal mining and coal-based power generation.
" We can provide Pakistan coal to gas technology for power generation to meet its energy challenges ," the High Commissioner said during his interactive session with members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) here. He was accompanied by Deputy Head of African mission in Karachi, Sarel van Zyl and its Honorary Consul General here, Ghulam Muhammad.
The High Commissioner said that during meetings with Punjab and Sindh Chief Ministers he had held detailed discussion on energy of Pakistan and offered his country's technical support especially in coal based power generation.
He informed the business community that three trade delegation from South Africa were scheduled to visit Pakistan before the end of this year and they would visit Karachi as well. He underlined the need for more exchange of business delegations and enhanced economic cooperation including entering into more joint ventures in different potential sectors on both sides. " We should benefit from our mutual potential trade and investment opportunities.
There is much scope in this economic relationship for improvement. It is my role and that of my High Commission to promote and enhance this relationship," he added. South African diplomat said the economic diplomacy has become the buzz word in modern diplomacy.
The mandate that he has received from his Government is to increase exports from South Africa to Pakistan and to promote South Africa as a safe environment for investments from Pakistan. Of course, the ultimate goal is to increase the level of total bilateral trade between our two friendly countries.
He said that a number of Pakistani companies have already invested successfully in various parts of South Africa and discussions on several new investment opportunities are in progress. South Africa is rich in mineral and other natural resources, and its government wishes to encourage foreign investors to set up their manufacturing plants there.
" We offer many incentives to investors and, more importantly, South Africa is regarded as a gateway to Africa," he remarked. South Africa also offers excellent transport facilities including ports and international airports for the exports of goods manufactured there. The High Commissioner informed the KCCI members that African continent is the second fastest growing region after Asia.
" We are ready to assist you with your inquiries regarding investment opportunities in South Africa, whatever sector you may wish to target," he said.
He said that the total trade between South Africa and Pakistan in 2012 figured $ 510 million. South Africa exports mainly iron and steel, aluminum and coal to Pakistan and imports cotton and yarn, textiles and leather goods from Pakistan. There are many other sectors that could be targeted for South African export to Pakistan. "We wish to invite members of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to approach us in this matter", he said.
South Africa and Pakistan share a history dating back many years when Pakistan was supporting the liberation struggle against apartheid. " Let me use the opportunity to thank the Pakistani people for their support, which led to freedom for all South Africans in 1994," he said. South African diplomat said that he had already visited several chambers of commerce and industry in major cities of Pakistan to share information on trade and investment existing in both the countries.
South African Deputy Head of the mission here, Serel van Zyl also stressed on increased people to people contacts especially school groups of both the countries. Pakistani sports goods are popular in South Africa. To a query, he said the delay in issue of visa was already under discussion. To another query, he said that more work is needed to be done on both sides to decide about warehouses facility in South Africa for Pakistani exporters. " We want some more details from you in this regard," he said.
President KCCI Aamir Abdullah Zaki briefed the visiting diplomats about the role of Karachi Chamber in promoting trade and industry within and outside the country.