Full Title: North American Coal Producers Plan $4.8 Billion USD On 15 New Mines For Steel Export Markets
Author(s): Ryan Driskell Tate, Caitlin Swalec
Publisher(s): Global Energy Monitor
Publication Date: October 12, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Coal producers in the United States and Canada plan to spend $4.8 billion USD on 15 new metallurgical
coal mine projects, each intended for steelmaking and mixed industrial consumers, according to a new
survey from Global Energy Monitor. The rosy forecasts of capacity-building in the steel industry
and a recent spike in metallurgical coal prices have encouraged some producers to mine more metallurgical-grade coal, a primary ingredient for the steel industryʼs blast furnace-basic oxygen
furnace process. But North American investments in new metallurgical coal mines are unlikely to yield
anticipated returns, or fulfill promises of 4,000 new jobs. The volatile coal export market, fast
approaching net-zero targets, and decarbonization policies leave these projects vulnerable to economic
and regulatory stranding. Coal producers plan to produce 38 million tonnes each year from these new
mines for export to Asia Pacific countries—more than double North Americaʼs current sales to the
region. However, the global steel industry faces mounting pressure to shift gears from coal-based steelmaking to electric steelmaking, putting metallurgical coal producers at risk of oversupply and stranding.