The move comes against the backdrop of the government mobilising over Rs 3 lakh crore in three tranches of coal auctions last year.

As many as 15 more coal mines that were auctioned last year would begin production by March 31, taking the number of total producing mines to 23, government said on Monday.

The move comes against the backdrop of the government mobilising over Rs 3 lakh crore in three tranches of coal auctions last year.

"Fifteen more mines that we had auctioned last year will start coal production by March 31," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told PTI.

Swarup said eight of the mines have already come in production.

The government had last year auctioned 31 coal mines in three tranches and made an allotment of 42 coal blocks to central or state government companies.

However, the government had to annul the process for the fourth round of coal block auctions, scheduled for this month on account of poor response from bidders in sectors like steel as well as depressed commodity prices and adverse market conditions.

Now, the government plans to initiate fourth round of auction as and when market condition improves.

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-15-more-coal-mines-to-start-

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Steel

China's crude steel output fell 2.3 percent to 803.8 million tonnes in 2015 from the previous year, government data showed on Tuesday, the first drop in more than three decades as the economy of the world's top producer slows.

Production also declined 5.2 percent to 64.37 million tonnes in December from the year before, according to the numbers from the National Bureau of Statistics, dented by faltering demand.

China's government is pushing to erode overcapacity in the steel industry, as the country aims to shift economic growth towards more consumption rather than heavy investment. The nation's massive steel sector is said to have a surplus capacity of about 300 million tonnes.

China's crude steel output is expected to decline for a second straight year in 2016 on continued weakness in demand, according to a government study.

"We would expect output to fall further this year, as the government is aiming to solve overcapacity and step up structural reform in supply," said Yu Yang, an analyst with Shenyin & Wanguo Futures in Shanghai.

Steel prices tumbled over 35 percent in 2015, which has already forced many Chinese mills to slash output or shut permanently, with little indication of a strong rebound in steel demand.

Coal


Output in December alone, normally a peak month for coal use as temperatures plunge, fell 0.3 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's coal industry is struggling with a huge supply glut that has sapped prices and forced many mines to shut.

Key coal-consuming industries like steel and power also experienced declines in 2015, with crude steel production falling 2.3 percent over the year and power generation dipping 0.2 percent.

Cement production, another important coal consuming sector, also fell 4.9 percent in 2015, following a downturn in construction activity.

Beijing has urged coal producers to control output and it has also banned new project approvals, but the move is unlikely to have any immediate impact on the market, which has seen prices fall by a third since the beginning of last year.

Senior officials at the China National Coal Association have said that despite the currenteconomic downturn, overall coal demand will increase over the long-term before peaking in the middle of the next decade.

But Carlos Fernandez Alvarez, coal analyst at the International Energy Agency, said at a meeting in Beijing last week that coal consumption in China had already peaked.

Environmental groups have urged the Chinese government to include an explicit 2020 coal consumption cap in its latest five-year plan, due to be published later this year.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, a U.S.-based group, has urged China to set the cap at 4 billion tonnes and to cut the figure to 3.5 billion tonnes by 2030.

The production of coking coal, used in steelmaking, also fell 6.5 percent over 2015 to 447.78 million tonnes, NBS data showed.

http://www.reuters.com/article/china-economy-output-steel-idUSL3N14Z2QW

http://www.reuters.com/article/china-economy-output-coal-idUSL3N1531CD

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Global miner Rio Tinto plans to increase iron ore production and shipments in 2016, defying a collapse in prices as it takes advantage of its position as the world's lowest cost producer.

The world no.2 iron ore producer reported an 11 percent rise in annual iron ore shipments on Tuesday, roughly in line with its guidance of 340 million tonnes, and said it expected to produce and ship 350 million tonnes in 2016, including its mine co-owners' volumes.

Rio's strong output, low costs and sharp cuts in capital spending are expected to help it maintain or raise its dividend at least for the next 12 months, in stark contrast to its rivals, even with commodities prices mired at multi-year lows.

"We will continue to focus on disciplined management of costs and capital to maximise cash flow generation throughout 2016," Rio Tinto Chief Executive Sam Walsh said in a statement.

The company has frozen all staff pay in 2016 and is slashing travel spending, stepping up a three-year cost-cutting effort to ride out a prolonged commodities slump. Walsh warned staff last week the outlook was "very sobering."

Iron ore shipments in the fourth quarter rose 10 percent on a year earlier to 91.3 million tonnes, including its co-owners' volumes, and again outpaced quarterly production as Rio Tinto ran down stockpiles.

Rio Tinto confirmed analysts' view that it would have to step up output in 2016 to keep up shipments.

It said it expects to produce and ship around 350 million tonnes of iron ore, including co-owners' volumes, implying a 7 percent increase in production and 4 percent rise in shipments.

Rio Tinto expects its share of mined copper production to rise to between 575,000 and 625,000 tonnes in 2016 from 504,000 tonnes last year, boosted by higher output from the Kennecott mine in the United States and an expected share of output from Freeport McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Indonesia.

Mined copper output fell 13 percent to 111,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2015, well below a Goldman Sachs forecast of 140,000 tonnes, mainly as there was less metal per tonne of rock dug at the Escondida mine in Chile, co-owned by BHP Billiton .

Like its peers, Rio Tinto stepped up metallurgical coal production to offset sliding prices in 2015, however it flagged that volumes would be flat in 2016. The company is trying to sell its coal operations in Australia's Hunter Valley.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rio-tinto-output-idUSL3N1524JU

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