Coal deal hits a snag

[pscot]

A proposed deal on a Montana coal mine that supporters said would boost Asian exports of the fuel via the West Coast has stalled, as court documents show the companies involved are renegotiating terms of the sale.Representatives of the two companies said Wednesday that a deal still was expected. They would not disclose what prompted the renegotiation or what the new terms could entail.

The deal announced in December involved a complex transaction in which Australia-based Ambre Energy would pay $57 million to Cloud Peak Energy for full control of the Decker mine near the Wyoming border.The cash payment was to increase to $64 million if the deal did not close by March 31, meaning the delay potentially already has cost Ambre $7 million.

Ambre wants to ramp up production from the once-bustling Decker mine and ship the coal to growing Asian markets through a pair of proposed ports along the Columbia River.But the company faces stiff opposition in Oregon and Washington state, and critics have questioned whether Ambre has the financial wherewithal to see its ambitious plans to fruition.

http://earthfix.kuow.org/energy/article/powder-river-basin-coal-export-deal-stalls/

[dballance]

1. Good. We don't want all those trainloads of coal traveling through here in Portland, OR.

The thought of all those lines and lines of train cars filled with coal that will add to our CO2 problems in the climate change mess our government continues to ignore does not go down well here in Portland.

I love my freaky home town

[Kolesar]

2. That "Patriot Coal" spinoff from Massey Coal has been suffering

There is nothing that says the coal industry is going to win every fight.