Another step has been taken on the slow but steady road to underground coal gasification (UCG), a process that brings coal gas to surface. Johannesburg-listed diversified mining company Exxaro Resources, which is keen to imple- ment the climate-change-abating UCG technology, has paid A$20-million to Singapore-listed Linc Energy to help it do so. Read on page 24 of this edition of Mining Weekly of this payment providing the green light for both parties to continue development of the first joint UCG project. Linc will get more money once the first gasifier is up and running, plus an ongoing royalty for the syngas produced.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has granted coal miner Forbes & Manhattan Coal, which operates in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, a financial hardship exemption. This relates to the company’s $4-million bridge loan portion of a $25-million financing package. Read on page 29 of this edition of Mining Weekly of Forbes Coal intending to hold a special meeting on the refinancing. The company says it is in serious financial difficulty. Also not trading and seeking recapitalisation is the Sydney- and Johannesburg-listed Continental Coal, which mines in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, as can be read on page 28 of this edition of Mining Weekly. While juniors feel the pinch, coal majors Rio Tinto, Anglo American and GlencoreXstrata may have the market value of their Australian coal assets nearly halved. Investment bank HSBC estimates that more than $20-billion may be wiped off their coal values on the basis of a “carbon budget”, a concept that HSBC says is gaining traction globally given the latest climate science.

Two years before $298-million of debt matures, investors are saying that platinum miner Aquarius risks having to sell assets to repay bondholders. Read on page 20 of this edition of Mining Weekly of the multi-listed Aquarius’s output declining from 422 645 oz in 2010 – when the debt was raised – to 325 103 oz last year after the closure of three mines. A respite to the company’s dwindling cash position may be provided if platinum prices rise as strikes at Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin bite.