CBI registers fresh case against Prakash Industries in coal
Four years after registering a preliminary enquiry, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a fresh case in coal scam against Prakash Industries alleging cheating in the allocation of Chotia coal block during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's tenure in 2003.
Based on a complaint by former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit and others in 2012, the Central Vigilance Commission had directed CBI to register the case but it remained a preliminary enquiry till now.
In its FIR, CBI has alleged its probe brought out facts against Prakash Industries which are offences punishable for criminal conspiracy and cheating under Indian Penal Code.
The FIR registered on Friday says Coal Ministry had issued allocation letter to Prakash Industries on September 4, 2003 for the allocation of Chotia CoalBlock for expansion of its sponge iron plant in Champa, Madhya Pradesh (now in Chhattisgarh) with certain conditions.
The company did not respond to a query sent on email seeking reaction on the development.
The agency alleged the company made "false claims" about production figures of its sponge iron plant in several of its communications to the Coal Ministry while applying for the block. The company had first applied in 1993.
Later, on November 26, 2011 and January 22, 2012 it informed Coal Ministry that it was producing 4.25 lakh tonnes of sponge iron per annum, the FIR alleged.
However, in a letter on January 22, 2003, the company claimed it had acquired highest capacity in 2001-02 with 2.74 lakh tonne as compared to 1995-96 when the production was 1.59 lakh tonne.
It said the plant is expected to achieve figures of 2.9 lakh tonne in 2002-03, hence captive coalblock be allotted to it, thus proving that claims made by it in 2001 and 2002 to be false, the CBIFIR alleged.
The FIR also alleged that during 19th Screening Committee meeting held on May 26, 2003 the company claimed that existing sponge iron plant has a linkage from Coal India Limited and it seeks to add another 4 LTPA capacity after which the panel decided to allocate the block "exclusively for 4 LTPA capacity additions" in the plant.
"The block was allegedly allocated to the company to meet 1 MTPA (metric tonnes per annum) coal exclusively for expansion of existing sponge iron plant for addition of 4 LTPA (lakh tonne per annum) plant at Champa, Chhattisgarh," CBI said.
It was further mentioned that the coal mined from this block shall exclusively be used by the company to meet the requirement for 0.4 MT of expansion of the existing sponge iron plant.
"Enquiry further revealed that as per Coal Controller Organisation (CCO) reports dated October 8, 2009 and May 20, 2011, the production of sponge iron in the years 2006-07 to 2009-10 ranged between 2.05 LT (2006-07) to 3.35 LT (2009-10), respectively making it clear that the company even later did not attain capacity of even 4 LTPA," the FIR alleged.
It alleged that the facts prima facie disclosed that the company conspired with unknown persons and misrepresented before Ministry of Coal/Screening Committee with regard to existing capacity with a view to secure Chotia coal block.
The CBI had earlier lodged an FIR against Prakash Industries Ltd and various others in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of Chhattisgarh's Fatehpur coal block but it was closed following lack of prosecutable evidence against it.
According to CBI, the Fatehpur coal block was allocated jointly to Prakash Industries Ltd and one other company by the 35th screening committee.
'Biggest new coal mine' in the world gets an 'Honest Advert' skewering
While the rest of the world slowly warms up to renewable energy and alternate power sources, it is so refreshing that one country continues to break away from its progressive counterparts.
Six years since its proposal to the Queensland state government in Australia, Adani's Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project has made a significant step toward complete approval.
It's set to become largest coal new coal mine in the world. The proposal estimates a 60-year use of the mine, which will generate an estimated 4.7 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, according to Environmental Law Australia (ELA).
It is only fitting then, that the Carmichael project receive an adequate skewering from Juice Media.
We'll leave the satire to the professionals, but suffice to say the two minute mock-advert is less than impressed with the company's plan and the environmental damage it will cause.
http://mashable.com/2016/12/04/adani-carchmichael-coal-mine-honest-advertisement/#zHivLOY4FmqW
Another Coal Mining Disaster In China Kills 32 People
Saturday’s gas explosion is the latest in a succession of deadly mining accidents to hit China.
The second deadly explosion to hit a Chinese coal mine in less than a week has killed 32 miners in the country’s northeast.
Citing state-run media, the Associated Press reported that 149 of the 181 people working underground at the colliery—operated by Baoma Mining—survived after a gas explosion on Saturday, but the rest perished.
Yang Huanning, director of the State Administration of Work Safety said that safety officials had been suspended in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, where the mine was located, and an inquiry would be set up to determine culpability for the incident.
On Thursday, a covert inspection in Jixi, another coal mining city, uncovered myriad violations of safety regulations among small-scale miners.
“Safety supervision should be strengthened,” Yang said. “Any safety risks have to be removed and measures should be taken to stop major accidents from happening again.”
Saturday’s explosion marks the latest in a succession of deadly mining disasters to hit China—its mines rank among the world’s most dangerous.
Four people were arrested after an explosion at an unlicensed mine in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China on Tuesday trapped scores of miners underground. By Saturday, 21 of the trapped miners had been confirmed dead according to China’s CCTV.
Another explosion in Chongqing, southwestern China killed 33 miners on Oct. 31.
The country has also suffered a number of recent high profile industrial accidents.
http://fortune.com/2016/12/04/china-coal-mining-explosion-chifeng/
Iron ore price steadies after a week of wild swings
The iron ore price has taken a breather after a week of sharp swings as traders pause to consider the commodity’s stunning rise.
Iron ore edged down just 0.1 per cent to $US78.00 on Friday night, according to The Steel Index, from $US78.10 the previous day.
The commodity has been swinging sharply between the $US70 and $US80 thresholds over recent sessions, following a vertiginous rally on the back of a surge in the price of coking coal and short covering by traders.
The stubborn strength of the commodity this year has blindsided many analysts, who have consistently reiterated forecasts that the price will decline without being proved correct.
Even so, many investment banks remain sceptical that the current euphoria can continue, with Macquarie the latest to warn of risks to Chinese demand for commodities.
“China’s economic performance, and commodity demand especially, has seen a dramatic turnaround this year,” Macquarie analysts said in a research note.
“Twelve months ago the concerns towards China were over a potential hard landing; currently market participants are more worried about overheating.
“While demand conditions in China have clearly been stronger than we expected, we are increasingly worried that Beijing may become steadily more aggressive in macro policy tightening, given their particular focus on inflationary pressures.
“We see further downside in prices for bulk commodities,” even after iron ore and coking coal edged back from recent peaks, Macquarie said.
In London trade, BHP Billiton shares fell 2.6 per cent, while Rio Tinto lost 0.7 per cent.
Warm Regards
Anurag Singal
Sr Manager –Business Development
Essel Mining & Industries Ltd
14th Floor, Industry House
10,Camac Street –Kol-71
Ph: 033-30518415,9088026252
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