INNOVATION March-April 2017

As with all commodities, coal prices are linked to the balance between worldwide demand and supply. According to Vancouver- based coal industry consultant and global coal-marketing specialist Kobie Koornhof, Canada’s output has been stable over the last two years, while low prices over the same period have driven US and Australia supplies down, creating both a shortage of metallurgical coal in the latter half of 2016 and price increases. Demand for coking coal is tightly tied to the steel industry. As demand for steel rises, so does demand for metallurgical coal. The steel industry has slowed in recent years, especially in China. As steel production in China decreases, Chinese production of metallurgical coal also slows, which then raises that country’s need for imported coking coal. As well, any increase in China’s price for domestic coking coal helps boost the price of coal imported from elsewhere, with Canada, the US, Australia, and Russia being the main suppliers. Although predictions always contain uncertainty, Koornhof says, ”Most observers expect headline pricing to stabilize in the US$120–150 per tonne range. In today’s currency world, this translates to C$60–200 per tonne. These prices would be high enough to allow all current metallurgical coal mines to operate at a profit, as well as fuel ongoing exploration on future projects.” BC’s Coal Community Today, the coal industry employs thousands of BC geologists and geotechnical, mining, and metallurgical engineers, many of whom bring local and international connections to their work. In addition, non-profit organizations such as the Coal Association of Canada, the Western Canadian Coal Society and the Coal Alliance provide advocacy, networking and professional development opportunities to coal industry professionals. Coal geologists and engineers learn much of what they know about coal on the job. Because of this, the industry relies heavily on experienced individuals to mentor young professionals entering the field. With many experienced experts retiring, retaining knowledge within the coal workforce will be a key challenge over the next decade. Part of the solution will be to continue to get people together for networking events and conferences. Another is to try to retain expertise and knowledge through research groups.

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Exploring Metallurgical Coal’s Future Canada is home to world-class research on metallurgical coal, coke and steel. Here at home, scientists and students at the University of British Columbia’s Department of Mining Engineering are researching coal characterization, coal petrography, surface chemistry, and coal-processing and coal- use technologies. For example, in 2016, Maria Holuszko, P.Eng., received a $250,000 grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to build infrastructure supporting research into the characterization and extraction of rare earth elements from Canadian coal tailings. If a way can be found to do this, BC would gain both a new source for production of these elements and a new use for rejected coal tailings. This could lead to a new industry that would require new standards of practice and more jobs for BC geoscientists and engineers.

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