coal laboratory business plan

How To Write a Business Plan for Coal Mining Business in 9 Steps: Checklist

By henry sheykin, resources on coal mining.

• Financial Model
• Business Plan
• Value Proposition
• One-Page Business Plan
• SWOT Analysis
• Business Model
• Marketing Plan

Interested in starting a coal mining business? In 2021, the global coal mining industry was valued at $686.8 billion, with a projected growth rate of 3.3% from 2022 to 2028. As the demand for minerals extracted from coal deposits remains high, launching a business in this industry can be profitable. However, in order to succeed, you need a well-designed business plan.

Here are nine essential steps to help you create a successful business plan for your coal mining business. First, conduct thorough market research to understand industry trends and competition. Analyze the current state of the industry and potential customers to determine the optimal location for your coal mine.

Once you have a clear understanding of the industry, it's time to secure funding and investment opportunities . Establishing a comprehensive business strategy and financial projections will increase your chances of obtaining necessary funding. Ensure you obtain the necessary permits and licenses before launching your operations.

Building a strong team is critical to the success of your coal mining business. Hire a team of experts and consultants who have experience in the industry and can provide guidance and support. Additionally, establishing clear safety procedures and regulations for your team is crucial.

By following these nine essential steps and creating a comprehensive business plan, you can launch a successful coal mining business, contributing to the growing industry's prosperity.

Conduct Thorough Market Research

Before starting a coal mining business, it is essential to conduct thorough market research to ensure that there is a demand for your services and that you have a solid understanding of the industry. Conducting research will help you identify potential customers, estimate the demand for your services, determine the prices you can charge, and assess the competition.

• Research your target market: Identify the type of companies, governmental agencies, or individuals who are likely to need your services. Look into the size of the market, the demographics, and the needs of potential customers.
• Analyze the competition: Analyze your competitors' strengths and weaknesses, their pricing strategies, and their marketing techniques. This will help you identify areas where you can differentiate yourself from the competition.
• Assess industry trends: Research the current state of the coal mining industry, including the demand for coal, the prices of coal, and the factors that influence the industry's growth. This information will help you make informed decisions about your business strategy.
• Use online databases and industry reports to get up-to-date and reliable information about the coal mining industry.
• Attend industry events and conferences and seek advice from experts to gain valuable insights.
• Survey potential customers to get feedback on their needs and preferences.

By conducting thorough market research, you can gain a better understanding of your potential customers' needs and the competitive landscape of the coal mining industry. Use this information to develop a solid business plan that meets the needs of your target market and differentiates your business from the competition.

Analyze The Competition And Current Industry Trends

One of the crucial steps in establishing a coal mining business is to conduct a thorough analysis of the competition and the current industry trends. This step will provide important insights into the market, competition, and industry trends, which can help you to shape your business strategies and make well-informed decisions.

To begin with, you should gather information on your competitors, their strengths, weaknesses, and industry positioning. You can also research the trends in the coal mining industry, the demand for coal, and the changing regulations and policies that may affect the industry in the future.

It is also essential to look for the key players in the industry, their market share, and their profitability. This information will help you to identify gaps in the market that your business can fill.

• Conduct a SWOT analysis of your competitors to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
• Research industry trends, market demand for coal, and changing regulations and policies
• Identify the key players in the industry, their market share, and profitability
• Look for gaps in the market that your business can fill
• Use industry reports and publications to gather information on the competition and industry trends
• Attend industry conferences and seminars to network with experts and gather insights
• Use online research tools like Google Alerts and social media to stay up to date with the latest industry news and trends

Analyzing the competition and current industry trends is an important step in developing a successful coal mining business. By gaining a deep understanding of the market and competition, you can identify opportunities to differentiate your business and create a compelling value proposition to attract customers.

Determine The Ideal Location For The Coal Mine

Determining the ideal location for a coal mine is crucial for the success of the business. Here are some important factors to consider when choosing a location:

• Accessibility: Your coal mine should be accessible by various modes of transportation, such as rail, road, and water. This will ensure that you can easily transport your coal to customers and distributors.
• Availability of coal deposits: Conduct a geological survey to determine the extent and quality of coal deposits in the area. The more extensive and higher quality the deposits, the more profitable your business will be.
• Proximity to markets: Consider the distance of your mine from potential customers. The closer your mine is to these markets, the lower your transportation costs will be.
• Infrastructure: Look for areas with existing infrastructure such as power lines, water sources, and telecommunication networks. This will reduce your start-up costs and improve efficiency.
• Environmental regulations: Check local environmental regulations to ensure that you can operate in compliance with these requirements. You may need to invest in additional equipment to meet these requirements.
• Business culture: The culture and norms of the community in which you operate can affect your operations. Consider factors such as labor availability, local attitudes towards mining, and government policies that might affect your business operations.
• Security: Safety and security of your employees, assets, and operations are paramount. Ensure that the location is secure and does not present security risks that may disrupt operations.
• Choose a location where local authorities are supportive of mining operations and are willing to provide necessary support such as infrastructure and security.
• Consider conducting a risk assessment to identify potential hazards and risks associated with the location of your mine and develop a plan to mitigate these risks.
• Engage the local community and communicate how your business will benefit them, such as by creating job opportunities and contributing to local development initiatives.

In summary, choosing the right location for your coal mine is crucial for the success of your business. Thoroughly research and analyze all the factors that may affect your operations before settling on a location.

Secure Funding And Investment Opportunities

Starting a coal mining business is a capital-intensive venture that requires significant funding and investment. Securing financial resources can be a daunting task, but with a solid business plan in place and a clear understanding of the project's potential return on investment, attracting investors and securing funding becomes more manageable.

Determine Financial Needs: Before seeking funding, it's essential to determine the financial requirements for the business. This requires creating a detailed budget and financial projections that cover all aspects of the coal mining operation. Estimate the costs involved in acquiring land, mining equipment, hiring staff, and other operational expenses. The financial projection should also project profits based on realistic expectations.

Consider Different Funding Options: There are numerous funding options available to entrepreneurs. Choices include loans, grants, subsidies, and crowdfunding, among others. Each option has its requirements, advantages, and disadvantages. Entrepreneurs need to research and determine which financing option best suits their needs.

• Join an investment club or network for access to potential investors.
• Provide thorough financial statements and projections to potential investors.
• Consider seeking private equity financing

Create a Comprehensive Business Plan: Lenders and investors require a business plan before providing funding. It's imperative to create a comprehensive plan that clearly outlines the company's goals, financial projections, marketing strategies, management structure, and operational procedures.

Network and Seek Professional Assistance: Seek professional assistance from financial experts, business advisors, and other professionals who offer funding assistance. Attend relevant industry events and workshops, which are often an opportunity to meet potential investors.

Be Prepared to Answer Follow-Up Questions: Expect to receive various follow-up questions from potential funders, including profit projections, risk assessments, and target market analyses.

Conclusion: Securing funding is a critical step in starting a coal mining business. A well-planned, comprehensive business plan can attract investors and secure funding. Keep in mind that securing financing can be a lengthy process, so entrepreneurs must remain patient, persistent, and optimistic.

Develop A Comprehensive Business Strategy

Now that you have conducted thorough market research, analyzed your competition and current industry trends, determined the ideal location for your coal mine, and secured funding and investment opportunities, it is time to develop a comprehensive business strategy. This will be the roadmap that guides your coal mining business to success.

Identify your target audience: Your target audience for the coal mining business will be the companies, governmental agencies, and individuals in need of minerals extracted from coal deposits. Therefore, it is essential to identify your target audience and their needs, challenges, and expectations. This step can help you tailor your business strategy to meet their needs.

Create a value proposition: A value proposition is your unique selling point. It communicates to potential customers what your business does better than your competitors. Be sure to highlight the benefits of using your services. This can help differentiate your business from others in the industry.

Define your business goals: It is essential to set clear and achievable goals for your coal mining business. What are your short-term and long-term goals? How do you plan to achieve them? It is crucial to have specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals (SMART).

Develop a marketing plan: Develop a marketing plan that outlines how you plan to reach your target audience, convey your value proposition, and achieve your business goals. Ensure your plan includes both online and offline marketing strategies.

Outline your operations plan: Your operations plan should outline the day-to-day operations of your business. This can include staff hiring and training, equipment and supply procurement, and coal extraction and transportation logistics.

• Ensure that your business strategy is flexible and can adapt to changes in the market and industry.
• Be realistic when setting your goals and do not overestimate your capabilities.
• Do not forget to consider the financial implications of your business strategy when developing it.

Developing a comprehensive business strategy is crucial to ensuring the success of your coal mining business. It is the foundation upon which you will build your business. Therefore, take your time and invest the necessary resources into developing a comprehensive strategy.

Create A Detailed Budget And Financial Projections

One of the most crucial steps in starting a coal mining business is creating a budget and financial projections. This will help you determine the estimated costs and expected revenue of the business, allowing you to make informed decisions and stay within budget. In this chapter, we will discuss how to create a detailed budget and financial projections for your business.

1. Estimate startup costs: Determine the expenses needed to start the coal mining business. This includes the cost of equipment, labor, permits, insurance, and other expenses. Make sure to include as much detail as possible, including the cost of each item and how much will be needed to purchase or rent them.

2. Estimate operating costs: Once you have determined the startup costs, estimate the ongoing costs of running the business. This includes expenses such as labor, fuel, maintenance, repairs, and taxes. Be sure to include as much detail as possible, including the cost of each item and how often it will need to be purchased or serviced.

3. Determine revenue: Estimate the revenue you can expect from your coal mining business. This includes the price of coal per ton, the number of tons you expect to produce, and any additional services you plan to offer, such as transportation or consulting. Consider the demand for coal in your target market and factor in any competition you may face.

4. Create financial projections: Using the estimates for startup and operating costs and revenue, create financial projections for the next few years. This will help you determine when the business is expected to break even and when you can expect to start making a profit.

• Tip: Be realistic with your financial projections. It's better to underestimate revenue and overestimate expenses to avoid any unexpected surprises.

5. Monitor and adjust: Once the business is up and running, regularly monitor your financial performance and adjust your budget and projections as needed. This will help you stay on track and adjust to any changes in the market or unexpected expenses.

• Tip: Consider using accounting software to help you monitor your finances and make adjustments more efficiently.

Creating a detailed budget and financial projections is essential to starting and maintaining a successful coal mining business. By estimating your expenses and revenue and monitoring your financial performance, you can make informed decisions and stay within budget, leading to long-term success.

Obtain Necessary Permits And Licenses

In order to start a coal mining business, it is essential to obtain the necessary permits and licenses. This ensures that the operation adheres to all applicable regulations and has the legal permission to operate. Obtaining permits and licenses can be a complex process and requires thorough research and preparation. Here are some important steps to follow to obtain the necessary permits and licenses:

• Research the necessary permits and licenses: The requirements for permits and licenses vary depending on the location of the mine and the type of coal mining operation. Research the specific requirements in the chosen location and familiarize yourself with the necessary permits and licenses.
• Identify the regulatory agencies: Different regulatory agencies oversee different aspects of the coal mining operation. Research and identify the relevant agencies and determine which permits and licenses are required from each agency.
• Prepare the necessary documentation: Each permit and license application requires specific documentation. Prepare all necessary documentation, such as environmental impact reports and safety plans, to ensure a smooth application process.
• Submit the applications: Submit all permit and license applications to the relevant agencies. Be sure to submit them in a timely manner and ensure that all necessary documentation is included.
• Follow up on the applications: Follow up with the regulatory agencies to ensure that the applications are being processed and all requirements are being met. Address any issues or concerns promptly.
• Obtain the permits and licenses: Once all requirements are met and the applications are approved, obtain the necessary permits and licenses. Keep these documents readily available and in a safe place.
• Engage with a consultant or expert who is knowledgeable in the regulatory process to ensure that all requirements are met.
• Be prepared for a lengthy and complex process. Allow yourself ample time to complete the process.
• Regularly check for updates or changes to the regulations and requirements.

Obtaining the necessary permits and licenses is a crucial step in starting a coal mining business. It ensures that the operation is legal and compliant with regulations. By following these steps, the process can be streamlined and successful.

Hire A Team Of Experts And Consultants

Launching a coal mining business requires a team of experts and consultants who can help you navigate the complexities of the industry. Depending on the nature and scale of your operation, you may need to hire professionals in a variety of areas, such as geology, mining engineering, environmental science, finance, and law.

To build a strong and efficient team, consider the following:

• Define your recruitment strategy: Determine the qualifications, skills, and experience required for each position and create a job description for each role. Identify the most effective recruitment channels, such as online job boards, professional associations, or referrals from industry contacts.
• Assess candidates: Once you have a pool of candidates, assess their qualifications and suitability for the job. Consider factors such as education, experience, certifications, and references. Conduct interviews, assessments, and background checks as necessary to evaluate their skills and fit.
• Provide ongoing training and development: Investing in your team's skills and knowledge can help improve productivity, safety, and compliance. Provide regular training sessions, workshops, and certifications to keep your team up-to-date with industry trends and best practices.
• Establish clear roles and responsibilities: Ensure that each team member understands their role, objectives, and performance expectations. Create a clear organizational structure and communication channels to facilitate collaboration and accountability.
• Consider hiring a consultant or advisor who has expertise in the coal mining industry and can provide guidance and strategic advice.
• Collaborate with local schools, universities, and vocational training centers to identify and train potential candidates.
• Offer competitive compensation, benefits, and incentives to attract and retain top talent.
• Develop a positive and supportive work culture that values diversity, inclusion, and safety.

It is important to hire a team that is passionate, qualified, and committed to your business's vision and values. By investing in your team's skills and expertise, you can improve your chances of success in the competitive and rapidly-evolving coal mining industry.

Establish Clear Safety Procedures And Regulations.

Considering the high risks associated with coal mining business , it is imperative to prioritize safety. The safety of employees and clients should be of paramount importance to any mining company. Therefore, it is vital to establish clear safety procedures and regulations to mitigate accidents and injuries in the workplace.

Here are some important safety measures that coal mining businesses must implement:

• Develop safety policies and procedures that conform to the industry standards and regulations. Make sure you keep them up-to-date and revise them as necessary.
• Appoint a qualified safety manager and a team of safety professionals to work alongside management to implement and enforce safety protocols.
• Provide appropriate training and education to employees about safety procedures, emergency protocols, and industry-specific hazards (e.g., coal dust, methane gas, equipment-related dangers).
• Ensure compliance with federal and state regulations and standards.
• Conduct regular safety checks and audits to identify any risk factors and areas that need improvement.
• Maintain and regularly inspect all equipment, machinery, and safety devices to ensure they are in proper working condition.
• Provide protective gear and equipment, such as helmets, respirators, and safety boots to employees working in dangerous work environments.
• Establish emergency response plans and provide staff with training and education on how to respond to accidents, injuries, and other hazardous situations.
• Encourage open communication and collaboration among employees and management to identify and address safety concerns proactively.
• Make safety a core value of the business culture
• Implement an incentive program to encourage workers to report unsafe conditions and suggest safety improvements
• Regularly communicate with employees about safety protocols, updates, and best practices.

Working in coal mines can be dangerous, but by establishing clear safety procedures and regulations that prioritize the safety of employees and clients, businesses can mitigate the risks associated with this industry and ensure that their operation runs smoothly.

Starting a coal mining business can be a profitable venture if done correctly. It’s important to conduct thorough market research, analyze the competition and trends, determine the ideal location, secure funding and investment, develop a comprehensive business strategy, create a detailed budget, obtain necessary permits and licenses, hire a team of experts, and establish clear safety procedures and regulations. By following these nine steps, you can create a successful coal mining business that provides services to companies, governmental agencies, or individuals in need of coal deposits.

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Coal Mining Business Plan Sample

Jan.24, 2020

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Table of Content

Coal Mining Business Plan for Starting Your own Company

Do you want to start a coal mining business? Since coal has found tremendous uses in industries and power sectors, you won’t be at a loss if you start the coal mining business. The business includes extracting coal from the ground using modern mining, underground mining, contour mining, strip mining or any other technique.

The business, no doubt, requires a lot of manpower, skillset, technical equipment, and knowledge but the rate of return you can get from this business truly deserves all that.

Before taking an actual startup, you’re required to write a comprehensive business plan. To help you with that, we are providing a sample coal mine business plan for a startup named, David Miners.

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

David Miners will be a licensed and registered coal mining company that will extract coal from various regions. The company’s outlet, workshop, and main office will be located in Chicago, Illinois. David Cameron will be the owner and CEO of the company.

2.2 Management of Coal Mining Company

Since the coal mining business requires many people of different eligibility and skillset, costly equipment and a large area to work, it’s essential to have a proper organizational structure. If you include a detailed management plan in your coal mining business plan template, you can get relief for a long time.

To effectively manage the working of his company, David will hire a manager and will overlook all the things by himself too. For efficient running of all tasks, David will hire miners, technicians, software experts, mining engineers, coal processing specialists, and general assistants.

2.3 Customers of Coal Mining Company

Before researching on how to start coal business you must explore who’ll be your customers. Our customers will mostly be the power producers, chemical and pharmaceutical companies, cement manufacturers and steel manufacturers. Later in this mining company business plan, we’ll provide details about the groups of our target customers.

2.4 Business Target

Our target is to provide supreme-quality coal to our consumers and becoming a top choice for everyone. Moreover, our monetary goal is to earn a profit margin of $10k per month by the end of the first year.

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

David Cameron is a post-graduate in mining engineering from the Camborne School of Mines, England. David has worked with Alpha Natural Resources for two years and has gained considerable experience in the field.

3.2 Why the coal mining company is being started

David had always wished to start his own company. After acquiring his degree and experience in the mining field, he decided to opt for starting a mining company. And the answer to why David goes for just coal is based upon the tremendous uses of this fossil fuel. From making liquid fuel to manufacturing electricity and daily-life things coal has found several applications.

3.3 How the coal mining company will be started

In this coal mining business plan we’re providing all details of how David Miners will be started. In case you don’t know how to make your own coal, you can take help from this sample business plan mining free of cost. David has decided to buy the tools and equipment needed for coal mining and hire the required staff one week before the launch so that they can be trained. Since miners will have to go for extracting coal from place to place so David will hire senior assistants to monitor their tasks.

A large space in Chicago will be acquired on rent and converted into the company’s office, outlet and workshop. The company will employ techniques such as mountain top removal and strip mining for surface and underground mining of coals. After extracting, coal will be processed in the workshop to be let for sale in the company’s store.

The detailed start-up requirements, start-up funding, start-up expenses, total assets, total funding required, total liabilities, total planned investment group for business , total capital and liabilities as forecasted by experts, is given below:

If you want to start a coal mining business by owning a coal mine you will have to first decide the services and products, you’ll provide. It’s because your crew and technical equipment will be entirely dependent on that.

Including your products in your coal mine business plan is a better way to proceed. As it can help you in taking major decisions before the time of implementation.

David Miners will hire its own crew to extract coal from underground. The company will provide the following products to its customers.

• Bituminous & Sub-Bituminous Coal: We’ll provide bituminous and sub-bituminous coals that are mainly used in power industries to produce electricity.
• Metallurgical Coal: We’ll provide metallurgical coal that is primarily used in making steel.
• Anthracite: We’ll sell anthracite, highest quality coal used for residential and commercial purposes.
• Cannel Coal: We’ll also offer cannel coal used to produce luminous flames.
• Coke: Another major product of ours will be the coke, left-out residue of coal that has several uses.
• Coal Tar: We’ll also provide coal tar that is used to make perfumes, pesticides, dyes, etc.
• Other Residues: Other residues left after processing raw coal such as silica, coal gas will also be sold by us.

Marketing Analysis of Coal Mine

If you are thinking about owning a coal mine and selling coal products as your business, you must first carry out a detailed marketing analysis. Marketing analysis can help you in knowing the current status of similar businesses and ongoing trends in your target market. Moreover, it can help you explore what challenges you can face while working for your target market.

While doing market analysis, you will also come to know about the interests of your customer groups that can help you in coming up with something that is desired.

By studying this coal mining business plan sample, you can understand which things must be observed during marketing analysis. If you are not an expert at doing marketing analysis, then it is highly recommended to get this task done by some professionals.

5.1 Market Trends

Over 1500 coal mining companies are running in the United States, employing about 62,500 people. Though coal mining companies have collectively generated $30 billion in 2019, still IBISWorld has reported a decline rate for this business instead of a growth rate. But, if you enter this venture with full planning and efficient preparation and of course by selecting a market where there are fewer competitors, you won’t be at loss.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

Target customers identified by David Miners are given here. Anyone looking for how to start coal business can benefit from here.

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

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5.2.1 Power Production Companies: The biggest consumer of our processed coal will be power production companies. As bituminous coal, sub-bituminous coal and anthracite are used as thermal coal to produce steam.

5.2.2 Steel Manufacturers : 70% of the steel manufactured uses coal. As coking coal is essential for steel manufacturing thus such companies will be a target group for us.

5.2.3 Cement Manufacturers: Another group of our target customers will comprise of cement industries as coal is mainly used as an energy source for cement production.

5.2.4 Chemical Companies & Medical Facilities: Several companies such as those producing shampoos, dyes, paints, etc. will be needing our products. Moreover, pharma industries and medical facilities will need coal as coal products are used in processes like Charcoal Hemoperfusion

5.2.5 Others: Individual buyers and other companies who require coal products will also be our target customers.

5.3 Business Target

Clearly stating your business targets in your business plan coal mining company can help you in taking suitable measures to achieve them.

Business targets set by David Miners are given here:

• To generate a net profit margin of $10k per month by the end of the first year
• To maintain the amount of minimum cash balance
• To lower the wastage of resources by 15% every year by increasing work efficiency
• To increase our sales by 25% every three months

5.4 Product Pricing

Our prices are almost the same as our competitors. However, we’ll provide a 10% discount on our products for the first three months.

Marketing Strategy for Mining Company

Great work.

Had the pleasure of working with Alex on a business plan for a new venture. The end result looks very professional. His communication is always prompt and he was very patient with my detailed requests. I would definitely work with this company in the future.

Developing marketing strategy for mining company is an extremely important step as it is the only thing that can help you get introduced with your customers. In your business plan for a major coal development company, you must clearly list the methods, you’ll adopt to reach out the groups of your target customers.

6.1 Competitive Analysis

Our biggest competitive advantage is that the market in which our products are demanded is really large. Though there are other already-established coal companies near us, still we hope to get customers as the need for coal is increasing with the passage of time. Moreover, David is already in contact with people who can need us for coal supply.

Secondly, we own the best equipment, highly qualified and skilled staff, who’re efficient in all the works from blowing a mountaintop to generate coal tar from coal.

Lastly, only we in the whole market provide online ordering and payment options. Through the services of our web-developers, we’ll enable our consumers to order us for delivering their desired products at the said time.

6.2 Sales Strategy

We will introduce our startup to the groups of our target customers by sending letters and brochures about us. We’ll ensure strong social media and web presence. Lastly, we’ll provide several discounts to encourage more and more customers to make a purchase.

6.3 Sales Monthly

6.4 sales yearly, 6.5 sales forecast.

Our sales pattern is expected to increase with years. By analyzing our market segmentation strategic business plan , our experts have forecasted the following sales on a yearly basis which are summarized in the column charts.

The detailed information about sales forecast, total unit sales, total sales is given in the following table:

Personnel plan

7.1 company staff.

David will be the owner and CEO of the company. To run his coal mining business he’ll hire the following people:

• 2 General Managers to manage overall operations
• 2 Accountants to maintain financial records
• 2 Mining Engineers to maintain coal extracting and processing processes
• 10 Field Employees to carry out major tasks
• 2 Senior Assistants to supervise various tasks
• 1 Sales and Marketing Officer to discover new ventures
• 1 Store Operator to operate display center
• 2 Technicians to maintain technical equipment
• 1 Web Developer to manage company’s sites
• 5 Cleaners to maintain the facility
• 2 Drivers to provide transport
• 1 Front Desk Officer to act as a receptionist

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

The following table shows the forecasted data about employees and their salaries for the next three years.

Financial Plan

The only thing that can help you in setting smart, and attainable financial goals for your business is a financial plan. In your coal mining business plan, you must thoroughly analyze how can you achieve your monetary goals while balancing all the expenses of equipment, maintenance, staff salary, and workplace rent.

To do all that careful spending, budgeting of your hard-earned cash is required which is only possible when you have decided main things in the form of a financial plan. To give you an idea of how to write an effective financial plan, we’re providing here a sample financial plan of David Miners.

8.1 Important Assumptions

8.2 brake-even analysis, 8.3 projected profit and loss, 8.3.1 profit monthly, 8.3.2 profit yearly, 8.3.3 gross margin monthly, 8.3.4 gross margin yearly, 8.4 projected cash flow, 8.5 projected balance sheet,   8.6 business ratios.

Download Coal Mining Business Plan Sample in pdf

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OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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Coal Mining Business Plan

• 43 comments
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• 24,684 views

Coal mining is one of the most in demand businesses that offer great amount of profit.

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However, managing a coal business is not an easy task. You need to establish a perfect business plan to obtain positive results.

If you decided to have a coal mining business, you need to consider several things to make your business very successful. Those businessmen who want to engage in this type of business need to prepare sufficient budget for its operational expenses. If you don’t know how to start your own coal mining business, this article will provide some valuable information.

Starting a Coal Mining Business

Establishing a coal mining business needs a great preparation. Before you can start your own coal mining business, you need to secure a business license in your locality. After getting all the essential documents, you need to identify the site for your mining operations. You can’t operate your coal mining business if you don’t have mining supplies. Since this type of business is quite huge, you need to hire several employees. In fact, you can also hire a manager to monitor your business operations. Operating a coal mining business may be too tough if you don’t know how to handle your business transactions.

Things to Consider in Starting a Coal Mining Business

Since hiring employees is very essential in your business operations, you need to choose some skilled laborers. To get effective laborers, the best thing that you need to do is through posting at the internet. There are lots of skilled people who are willing to engage in this type of business. Through this, you will never find it hard to search for the best employees in your coal mining business. Every laborer is your asset in accumulating more profits. As an employer, you need to provide some incentives to your employees. In addition, you also need to establish rules and regulations in your company.

Tips in Purchasing your Coal Mining Supplies

Supplies are very essential in coal mining business operation. If you are planning to purchase mining supplies, you need to depend on reliable dealers. Once you failed to do this, your mining operation will never be successful. However, you don’t need to spend a lot of money in purchasing your mining supplies. There are several equipments that are not so costly and with high quality. Price of every mining supply always varies depending on your dealers. That is why you need to choose the best dealers for your coal mining business.

Business Success with Coal Mining

Coal mining business success greatly depends on your ability. If you regularly monitor your company, you can easily find some solutions to your problems especially when unexpected circumstance arises. Having some issues in your coal mining operations are expected to happen. It is the reason why you need to be prepared. To do this, you can create some contingency plans for any business activities.

43 Comments

• paul sibanda   said on September 13, 2012 Am planing to get funding from the zimbabwean government through the ministry of youth indegenisation and economic empowerment. The mine will be located in hwange, matabeleland north province. The expected amount is $200000 . Of the amount, half will be used to pay for a mining claim and the other remainder will be used for expenses related to hiring contractors to do the mining
• Chakri   said on September 21, 2012 Hello Dear sir/Madam, This is Mr.chakri from India.The reason behind this mail is in the way of searching of investors to put their investments in mining sector in india. I am ready to give all support from my side. many deals are there with me like quartz, granite, lime stone, iron and Dolamite etc. if any one of your clients interested to do business here, i will take care of all documents, land clearance and purchasing, licenses from Indian Government and Central Mining departments. Thank you, K.S.Chakravarti [email protected]
• moss Ntlotlang Mosarwe   said on January 24, 2013 i am a citizen of Botswana willing to partner with any investor who is willing to do business in this politically stable country. i want us to venture in the mining business, it can be supply/export of coal, copper, diamond and soda ash. my country is providing finance to citizen entrepreneurs at very low interest rates. so i will have access to this funds. i will prepare all relevant documents. please contact me [email protected] regards N.M.Mosarwe
• Kenny Ngcobo   said on March 2, 2013 Dear Sir/Madam, I am a citizen of South Africa, I am willing to partner with an investor who is willing to do business in this country. We have lot of minerals I want us to venture in coal mining business. Thank You, [email protected]
• sipho nkosi   said on April 6, 2013 johannesburg , south africa . I'm currently seeking for an initial start-up capital to establish an open cast mine in coal mining , in south africa . Anyone who is interested to partner with me please don't hesitate .
• sanjay lumar   said on June 24, 2013 interested to start the trading business for indonesian coal imported in India. with the objective of starting small in 1st year with master plan of 5 years, would request for a business plan. thank and cheers, sanjay kumar
• lucky mpungose   said on August 15, 2013 Dear sir/madam, I have a farm with coal so any investors having interest please email me to help with funds to start mining
• Nicolas   said on August 29, 2013 I'm starting a coal laboratory business in south africa i really need a partner
• althea.bunu   said on November 17, 2013 Hi lucky can you please contact me on coal mining company, thanks althea
• Motlatsi Sibeko   said on December 4, 2013 I am venturing into a coal mining business. I am looking for any interested party who will inject capital and take equity as we start the business together.
• Iyi Clinton   said on December 12, 2013 Hi, I am from Nigeria and I am interested in venturing into the coal mining business since my country has set up policies to encourage investors. Any one who is interested in doing business with me should please contact me. You wont regret thanks.
• sifiso   said on December 27, 2013 is it possible to start these kind of business if you are planning to operate a open cast buy from mines and keep it for coal preparations and sell to customers. if yes send me more information about these business
• James   said on March 5, 2014 Investor needed for a bituminous coal mine located in Virginia in the United States.
• Steve George   said on May 17, 2014 WE HAVE A COAL MINING PROJECT BASED IN SOUTHERN TANZANIA EAST AFRICA IN NEED OF A BUSINESS PLAN. CAN YOU GUIDE US THROUGH PLEASE.
• john   said on January 1, 2015 Hello. I need help in starting a coal mining business in my country. Please help me
• JIMMY FRANK   said on January 9, 2015 I have Open Cut Coal Field offered for sale. With a high grade Thermo Coal, it's located Southeast of Tanzania, all relevant docs available including valid Prospecting License. We can get in touch for the preliminary arrangement through [email protected]
• mvulane   said on January 30, 2015 My name is Mvulane from South Africa and I am hereby requesting information of how get started when one wants to open a coal mine because here in my home town there is a very huge land which is full of coals now I want to know how to get the investor or capital to start this business. I am located in South Africa in the free state province in a town called Frankfort. Thank you
• mvulane   said on January 30, 2015 I need an investor who can join me and become partners I want to start a coal mine in South africa in a town called Frankfort which is located in the free state, there is a very huge area which is full of coals and it was discover since 1988 until now there are no changes made. I can be contacted at . [email protected], Cell no. +2783 7632330 Thank you
• Bonga Gajana   said on February 13, 2015 I need a good business plan for a coal mine due to loadshed strikes and lake of employment in my City, I'm from mthatha in the eastern cape South Africa
• femman   said on April 19, 2015 Hi, i am an Irish looking for a business partner to go into mining business in south africa please contact me on the above email address [email protected]. thank you
• Rushi   said on May 8, 2015 Hi, i am doing coal business from Indonesia, now i am looking for South African coal, Richards Bay coal. if any body have contacts, please contact me below email address. [email protected]. Thank you.
• carlito   said on July 7, 2015 Hi there! I have business proposition for nee coal deposits here in mindanao philippines. I need a business partner. Email me at [email protected]
• Dharmesh Barha   said on July 14, 2015 Hi I am interested to start the trading business form indonesian coal imported in India. with the objective of starting small in 1st year with master plan of 5 years, would request for a business plan. Regards, Dharmesh Barha, +91 98 93 005621
• shumba   said on January 7, 2016 Hi if you interested to know about coal qualities or you wanna test your coal. I am rendering my services into my one of South African coal accredited laboratory on reasonable price. my email: [email protected]
• nosipho   said on February 1, 2016 hi I'm nosipho mazwi in south Africa I'm interred to partner with an investor for a start up capital I have already identified the site
• Siyabonga Gumede   said on March 1, 2016 Hi i am siyabonga Gumede from south africa(KZN) i want to start coal mining as it is a demand in primary source energy for industries and household i need passionate diligent partner to take this further for more inquiries [email protected]

[email protected] || Consultant

• Carol Dlamini   said on June 4, 2016 Hi, Carol Dlamini here, a young lady from South Africa, in Mpumalanga, looking for investors who are interested in starting a business in the mining sector (coal) in South Africa. I have a lot to offer please don't hesitate to call me. Thank you. Find me at [email protected].
• Raja sekhar   said on June 22, 2016 I am raja sekhar. I lives at Hyderabad. And my state is telangana & andhra Pradesh. My contact number is 9505372128. I want to start an coal business..

Coal Mining Adviser

• olumide   said on November 20, 2016 I am interested in the coal business .pls i need more guide and information.
• favour   said on December 1, 2016 @janifer I need call me on 08105624489
• Nature   said on December 12, 2016 Hi, I am interested in business that have got prospecting permits for coal and mining rights we will be happy to invest. Contact Nature Thabethe +272769050349 or email [email protected]
• Gerald Steven   said on December 14, 2016 Hello, due to electricity problems in Malawi we are interested to start a coal mining business. We will secure all requisite licenses, permits and mining rights. We are looking for serious partners for this opportunity to improve the desperately needed power supply in Malawi...great business opportunity . Contact: [email protected]
• Abhishek   said on May 4, 2017 Hi am interested in coal trading in india ...looking for ur expert advice. Abhishek 9675050505

[email protected] || Coal Business Expert

• Odang samson sol   said on May 15, 2017 @james, I am a Nigerian searching for investors in any of the following areas: petroleum, limestone, coal and kaolin. They are all in commercial quantity in my village. Call +2348136836197.
• Praveen   said on May 31, 2017 Hi I am interested coal & petcock trading in India. (Andhra Pradesh . Karnataka .cheenai Maharashtra) Looking for best advice & agents. What is the budget of investment (INR). My home town is Hyderabad Telangana Contact no.9100822636
• TAFFI ZULU   said on June 4, 2017 TAFARNO INDUSTRIES IS A ZIMBABWEAN REGISTERED COMPANY LOOKING FOR INVESTORS NAMELY IN COAL, NICKEL, GOLD ,CHROME,LEAD, COPPER, TANTALITE, MANGANESE, TIN AND IRON ON A 50-50% BASIS. THE COUNTRY IS VERY STABLE WITH HIGH LITERACY RATE. WE WILL SECURE ALL LICENSES REQUIRED BY ZIMBABWEAN LAW
• Themba   said on June 21, 2017 Hi, this is Themba Zulu from South Africa in KwaZulu Natal province. I am owning a very good land which is having a very white lime stone. Actually we have registered the trust with the department of Land Affairs since our it our wish as the Zulu's Family to get investors who will at least be able to work in our land.
• Abhi B.   said on February 27, 2018 Hai, my name is Abhi from Indonesia, I'm looking for investor for our project in india. we have already secure deal with certain large factory in india, unfortunately they are only willing to complete payment at their factory (CIF + FOR), while we only able to supply coal at port of loading (FOB) basis, we need someone who able to re-sell our coal to them by sea then by rail, the requirement is 50.000 ton at regular basis, for someone interested please contact me +62 812 3933 0884
• John Mwapili   said on November 9, 2018 Thanks very much. Am interested in getting an investor/partner with initial start-up capital to begin mining and selling coal located in the South West of Tanzania, East Africa. The Market is not a problem. All mining Licenses are secured together with mining rights. The deposits are estimated to last for 50 yrs with expansion opportunity. Terms to be negotiated with a serious partner.
• Sam Phiri   said on January 1, 2021 Hi, there I'm Sam Phiri from Belfast in South Africa. I'm willing to enter to the mining industry as Mpumalanga is the place of coal, so if there`s any investor who`s willing to invest...please contact me on this number 072 663 5406 or email me on [email protected]... I`ll be much appreciated to partner with you.
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How to write a business plan for a coal power plant?

Putting together a business plan for a coal power plant can be daunting - especially if you're creating a business for the first time - but with this comprehensive guide, you'll have the necessary tools to do it confidently.

We will explore why writing one is so important in both starting up and growing an existing coal power plant, as well as what should go into making an effective plan - from its structure to content - and what tools can be used to streamline the process and avoid errors.

Without further ado, let us begin!

In this guide:

Why write a business plan for a coal power plant?

• What information is needed to create a business plan for a coal power plant?
• How do I build a financial forecast for a coal power plant?

The written part of a coal power plant business plan

• What tool should I use to write my coal power plant business plan?

Being clear on the scope and goals of the document will make it easier to understand its structure and content. So before diving into the actual content of the plan, let's have a quick look at the main reasons why you would want to write a coal power plant business plan in the first place.

To have a clear roadmap to grow the business

Running a small business is tough! Economic cycles bring growth and recessions, while the business landscape is ever-changing with new technologies, regulations, competitors, and consumer behaviours emerging constantly.

In such a dynamic context, operating a business without a clear roadmap is akin to driving blindfolded: it's risky, to say the least. That's why crafting a business plan for your coal power plant is vital to establish a successful and sustainable venture.

To create an effective business plan, you'll need to assess your current position (if you're already in business) and define where you want the business to be in the next three to five years.

Once you have a clear destination for your coal power plant, you'll have to:

• Identify the necessary resources (human, equipment, and capital) needed to reach your goals,
• Determine the pace at which the business needs to progress to meet its objectives as scheduled,
• Recognize and address the potential risks you may encounter along the way.

Engaging in this process regularly proves advantageous for both startups and established companies. It empowers you to make informed decisions about resource allocation, ensuring the long-term success of your business.

Need a convincing business plan?

The Business Plan Shop makes it easy to create a financial forecast to assess the potential profitability of your projects, and write a business plan that’ll wow investors.

To anticipate future cash flows

Regularly comparing your actual financial performance to the projections in the financial forecast of your coal power plant's business plan gives you the ability to monitor your business's financial health and make necessary adjustments as needed.

This practice allows you to detect potential financial issues, such as unexpected cash shortfalls before they escalate into major problems. Giving you time to find additional financing or put in place corrective measures.

Additionally, it helps you identify growth opportunities, like excess cash flow that could be allocated to launch new products and services or expand into new markets.

Staying on track with these regular comparisons enables you to make well-informed decisions about the amount of financing your business might require, or the excess cash flow you can expect to generate from your main business activities.

To secure financing

A detailed business plan becomes a crucial tool when seeking financing from banks or investors for your coal power plant.

Investing and lending to small businesses are very risky activities given how fragile they are. Therefore, financiers have to take extra precautions before putting their capital at risk.

At a minimum, financiers will want to ensure that you have a clear roadmap and a solid understanding of your future cash flows (like we just explained above). But they will also want to ensure that your business plan fits the risk/reward profile they seek.

This will off-course vary from bank to bank and investor to investor, but as a rule of thumb. Banks will want to see a conservative financial management style (low risk), and they will use the information in your business plan to assess your borrowing capacity — the level of debt they think your business can comfortably handle — and your ability to repay the loan. This evaluation will determine whether they'll provide credit to your coal power plant and the terms of the agreement.

Whereas investors will carefully analyze your business plan to gauge the potential return on their investment. Their focus lies on evidence indicating your coal power plant's potential for high growth, profitability, and consistent cash flow generation over time.

Now that you recognize the importance of creating a business plan for your coal power plant, let's explore what information is required to create a compelling plan.

Information needed to create a business plan for a coal power plant

You need the right data in order to project sales, investments and costs accurately in the financial forecast of your coal power plant business plan.

Below, we'll cover three key pieces of information you should gather before drafting your business plan.

Carrying out market research for a coal power plant

Before you begin writing your business plan for a coal power plant, conducting market research is a critical step in ensuring precise and realistic financial projections.

Market research grants you valuable insights into your target customer base, competitors, pricing strategies, and other crucial factors that can impact the success of your business.

In the course of this research, you may stumble upon trends that could impact your coal power plant.

You may find that customers are increasingly demanding more efficient coal power plants, as they become more aware of their environmental impact. Additionally, market research could reveal that customers may be looking for more cost-effective solutions, as coal power plants can be expensive to operate.

Such market trends play a pivotal role in revenue forecasting, as they provide essential data regarding potential customers' spending habits and preferences.

By integrating these findings into your financial projections, you can provide investors with more accurate information, enabling them to make well-informed decisions about investing in your coal power plant.

Developing the sales and marketing plan for a coal power plant

As you embark on creating your coal power plant business plan, it is crucial to budget sales and marketing expenses beforehand.

A well-defined sales and marketing plan should include precise projections of the actions required to acquire and retain customers. It will also outline the necessary workforce to execute these initiatives and the budget required for promotions, advertising, and other marketing efforts.

This approach ensures that the appropriate amount of resources is allocated to these activities, aligning with the sales and growth objectives outlined in your business plan.

The staffing and capital expenditure requirements of a coal power plant

Whether you are starting or expanding a coal power plant, it is important to have a clear plan for recruitment and capital expenditures (investment in equipment and real estate) in order to ensure the success of the business.

Both the recruitment and investment plans need to be coherent with the timing and level of growth planned in your forecast, and require appropriate funding.

The staffing costs for a coal power plant may include salaries for engineers, technicians, and other personnel necessary for the operation and maintenance of the plant. Additionally, the plant may need to purchase or lease equipment such as boilers, turbines, and cooling towers for the plant to function properly, all of which can incur significant costs.

In order to create a realistic financial forecast, you will also need to consider the other operating expenses associated with running the business on a day-to-day basis (insurance, bookkeeping, etc.). 

Once you have all the necessary information to create a business plan for your coal power plant, it is time to start creating your financial forecast.

What goes into your coal power plant's financial forecast?

The objective of the financial forecast of your coal power plant's business plan is to show the growth, profitability, funding requirements, and cash generation potential of your business over the next 3 to 5 years.

The four key outputs of a financial forecast for a coal power plant are:

• The profit and loss (P&L) statement ,
• The projected balance sheet ,
• The cash flow forecast ,
• And the sources and uses table .

Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail.

The projected P&L statement

The projected P&L statement for a coal power plant shows how much revenue and profit your business is expected to make in the future.

A healthy coal power plant's P&L statement should show:

• Sales growing at (minimum) or above (better) inflation
• Stable (minimum) or expanding (better) profit margins
• A healthy level of net profitability

This will of course depend on the stage of your business: numbers for a startup will look different than for an established coal power plant.

The projected balance sheet of your coal power plant

The balance sheet for a coal power plant is a financial document that provides a snapshot of your business’s financial health at a given point in time.

It shows three main components: assets, liabilities and equity:

• Assets: are resources owned by the business, such as cash, equipment, and accounts receivable (money owed by clients).
• Liabilities: are debts owed to creditors and other entities, such as accounts payable (money owed to suppliers) and loans.
• Equity: includes the sums invested by the shareholders or business owners and the cumulative profits and losses of the business to date (called retained earnings). It is a proxy for the value of the owner's stake in the business.

Examining the balance sheet is important for lenders, investors, or other stakeholders who are interested in assessing your coal power plant's liquidity and solvency:

• Liquidity: assesses whether or not your business has sufficient cash and short-term assets to honour its liabilities due over the next 12 months. It is a short-term focus.
• Solvency: assesses whether or not your business has the capacity to repay its debt over the medium-term.

Looking at the balance sheet can also provide insights into your coal power plant's investment and financing policies.

In particular, stakeholders can compare the value of equity to the value of the outstanding financial debt to assess how the business is funded and what level of financial risk has been taken by the owners (financial debt is riskier because it has to be repaid, while equity doesn't need to be repaid).

The projected cash flow statement

A cash flow forecast for a coal power plant shows how much cash the business is projected to generate or consume.

The cash flow statement is divided into 3 main areas:

• The operating cash flow shows how much cash is generated or consumed by the operations (running the business)
• The investing cash flow shows how much cash is being invested in capital expenditure (equipment, real estate, etc.)
• The financing cash flow shows how much cash is raised or distributed to investors and lenders

Looking at the cash flow forecast helps you to ensure that your business has enough cash to keep running, and can help you anticipate potential cash shortfalls.

It is also a best practice to include a monthly cash flow statement in the appendices of your coal power plant business plan so that the readers can view the impact of seasonality on your business cash position and generation.

The initial financing plan

The initial financing plan - also called a sources and uses table - is an important tool when starting a coal power plant.

It shows where the money needed to set up the business will come from (sources) and how it will be allocated (uses).

Having this table helps understand what costs are involved in setting up the coal power plant, how the risks are distributed between the shareholders and the lenders, and what will be the starting cash position (which needs to be sufficient to sustain operations until the business breaks even).

Now that the financial forecast of a coal power plant business plan is understood, let's focus on what goes into the written part of the plan.

The written part of a coal power plant business plan is composed of 7 main sections:

• The executive summary
• The presentation of the company
• The products and services
• The market analysis
• The strategy
• The operations
• The financial plan

Throughout these sections, you will seek to provide the reader with the details and context needed for them to form a view on whether or not your business plan is achievable and your forecast a realistic possibility.

Let's go through the content of each section in more detail!

1. The executive summary

The executive summary, the first section of your coal power plant's business plan, serves as an inviting snapshot of your entire plan, leaving readers eager to know more about your business.

To compose an effective executive summary, start with a concise introduction of your business, covering its name, concept, location, history, and unique aspects. Share insights about the services or products you intend to offer and your target customer base.

Subsequently, provide an overview of your coal power plant's addressable market, highlighting current trends and potential growth opportunities.

Then, present a summary of critical financial figures, such as projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

You should then include a summary of your key financial figures such as projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

Lastly, address any funding needs in the "ask" section of your executive summary.

2. The presentation of the company

As you build your coal power plant business plan, the second section deserves attention as it delves into the structure and ownership, location, and management team of your company.

In the structure and ownership part, you'll provide valuable insights into the legal structure of the business, the identities of the owners, and their respective investments and ownership stakes. This level of transparency is vital, particularly if you're seeking financing, as it clarifies which legal entity will receive the funds and who holds the reins of the business.

Moving to the location part, you'll offer a comprehensive view of the company's premises and articulate why this specific location is strategic for the business, emphasizing factors like catchment area, accessibility, and nearby amenities.

When describing the location of your coal power plant to a third-party financier, you may want to emphasize its proximity to major transportation routes and major population centers. This could give the financier confidence that the plant would have access to a steady supply of coal and customers, respectively. You may also want to point out the proximity to reliable sources of water, as well as any other potential advantages that the particular location may possess. Furthermore, you could note any potential government incentives or subsidies that may be available in the region.

Lastly, you should introduce your esteemed management team. Provide a thorough explanation of each member's role, background, and extensive experience.

It's equally important to highlight any past successes the management team has achieved and underscore the duration they've been working together. This information will instil trust in potential lenders or investors, showcasing the strength and expertise of your leadership team and their ability to deliver the business plan.

3. The products and services section

The products and services section of your coal power plant business plan should include a detailed description of what your company sells to its customers. 

For example, your coal power plant might offer electricity generation, steam production, and coal mining services to its customers. Electricity generation allows customers to access reliable and cost-effective electricity, while steam production can provide energy for industrial processes. Coal mining services can provide customers with a steady supply of coal to fuel the plant.

The reader will want to understand what makes your coal power plant unique from other businesses in this competitive market.

When drafting this section, you should be precise about the categories of products or services you sell, the clients you are targeting and the channels that you are targeting them through. 

4. The market analysis

When presenting your market analysis in your coal power plant business plan, you should detail the customers' demographics and segmentation, target market, competition, barriers to entry, and any regulations that may apply.

The goal of this section is to help the reader understand how big and attractive your market is, and demonstrate that you have a solid understanding of the industry.

You should start with the demographics and segmentation subsection, which gives an overview of the addressable market for your coal power plant, the main trends in the marketplace, and introduces the different customer segments and their preferences in terms of purchasing habits and budgets.

The target market section should follow and zoom on the customer segments your coal power plant is targeting, and explain how your products and services meet the specific needs of these customers.

For example, your target market might include businesses who are in need of a reliable and consistent source of energy. These businesses may have factories that require a large amount of energy to remain operational. Additionally, these businesses may be located within a reasonable proximity to the coal power plant in order to minimize transportation costs.

Then comes the competition subsection, where you should introduce your main competitors and explain what differentiates you from them.

Finally, you should finish your market analysis by giving an overview of the main regulations applicable to your coal power plant.

5. The strategy section

When writing the strategy section of a business plan for your coal power plant, it is essential to include information about your competitive edge, pricing strategy, sales & marketing plan, milestones, and risks and mitigants.

The competitive edge subsection should explain what sets your company apart from its competitors. This part is especially key if you are writing the business plan of a startup, as you have to make a name for yourself in the marketplace against established players.

The pricing strategy subsection should demonstrate how you intend to remain profitable while still offering competitive prices to your customers.

The sales & marketing plan should outline how you intend to reach out and acquire new customers, as well as retain existing ones with loyalty programs or special offers. 

The milestones subsection should outline what your company has achieved to date, and its main objectives for the years to come - along with dates so that everyone involved has clear expectations of when progress can be expected.

The risks and mitigants subsection should list the main risks that jeopardize the execution of your plan and explain what measures you have taken to minimize these. This is essential in order for investors or lenders to feel secure in investing in your venture.

Your coal power plant may face a variety of risks. For example, it could face technological risks, such as a malfunction or failure of the power plant's equipment or systems. Additionally, it might face environmental risks, such as the potential for physical damage due to extreme weather events, such as flooding or hurricanes.

6. The operations section

The operations of your coal power plant must be presented in detail in your business plan.

The first thing you should cover in this section is your staffing team, the main roles, and the overall recruitment plan to support the growth expected in your business plan. You should also outline the qualifications and experience necessary to fulfil each role, and how you intend to recruit (using job boards, referrals, or headhunters).

You should then state the operating hours of your coal power plant - so that the reader can check the adequacy of your staffing levels - and any plans for varying opening times during peak season. Additionally, the plan should include details on how you will handle customer queries outside of normal operating hours.

The next part of this section should focus on the key assets and IP required to operate your business. If you depend on any licenses or trademarks, physical structures (equipment or property) or lease agreements, these should all go in there.

Your coal power plant could have a range of key assets and IP, such as the plant itself and the technology it uses to generate and distribute power. It may also have intellectual property such as patents, trademarks, or copyrights protecting the technology and processes used by the plant. Additionally, your coal power plant might have valuable proprietary information such as customer data, trade secrets, or other confidential information.

Finally, you should include a list of suppliers that you plan to work with and a breakdown of their services and main commercial terms (price, payment terms, contract duration, etc.). Investors are always keen to know if there is a particular reason why you have chosen to work with a specific supplier (higher-quality products or past relationships for example).

7. The presentation of the financial plan

The financial plan section is where we will include the financial forecast we discussed earlier in this guide.

Now that you have a clear idea of what goes into a coal power plant business plan, let's look at some of the tools you can use to create yours efficiently.

What tool should I use to write my coal power plant's business plan?

There are two main ways of creating your coal power plant business plan:

• Using specialized business planning software,
• Hiring a business plan writer.

Using an online business plan software for your coal power plant's business plan

The modern and most efficient way to write a coal power plant business plan is to use business plan software .

There are several advantages to using specialized software:

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can access a library of dozens of complete business plan samples and templates for inspiration
• You get a professional business plan, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• You can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast
• You can create scenarios to stress test your forecast's main assumptions
• You can easily update your forecast as time goes by to maintain visibility on future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here .

Hiring a business plan writer to write your coal power plant's business plan

Outsourcing your coal power plant business plan to a business plan writer can also be a viable option.

Business plan writers are experienced in writing business plans and adept at creating financial forecasts without errors. Furthermore, hiring a consultant can save you time and allow you to focus on the day-to-day operations of your business.

However, hiring business plan writers is expensive as you are paying for the software used by the consultant, plus their time, and their profit margin of course.

From experience, you need to budget at least £1.5k ($2.0k) excluding tax for a complete business plan, more if you need to make changes after the initial version (which happens frequently after the initial meetings with lenders or investors).

You also need to be careful when seeking investment. Investors want their money to be used to grow the business, not spent on consulting fees. Therefore, the amount you spend on business plan writing services (and other consulting services such as legal services) needs to be negligible relative to the amount raised.

The other drawback is that you usually don't own the business plan itself: you just get the output, while the actual document is saved in the consultant's business plan software - which makes it difficult to maintain the document up to date without hiring the consultant on a retainer.

For these reasons, outsourcing the coal power plant business plan to a business plan writer should be considered carefully, weighing both the advantages and disadvantages of hiring outside help.

Ultimately, it may be the right decision for some businesses, while others may find it beneficial to write their business plan using online software.

Why not create your coal power plant's business plan using Word or Excel?

Using Microsoft Excel and Word (or their Google, Apple, or open-source equivalents) to write a coal power plant business plan is a terrible idea.

For starters, creating an accurate and error-free financial forecast on Excel (or any spreadsheet) is very technical and requires both a strong grasp of accounting principles and solid skills in financial modelling.

As a result, it is unlikely anyone will trust your numbers unless - like us at The Business Plan Shop - you hold a degree in finance and accounting and have significant financial modelling experience in your past.

The second reason is that it is inefficient. Building forecasts on spreadsheets was the only option in the 1990s and early 2000s, nowadays technology has advanced and software can do it much faster and much more accurately.

And with the rise of AI, software is also becoming smarter at helping us detect mistakes in our forecasts and helping us analyse the numbers to make better decisions.

Also, using software makes it easy to compare actuals vs. forecasts and maintain our forecasts up to date to maintain visibility on future cash flows - as we discussed earlier in this guide - whereas this is a pain to do with a spreadsheet.

That's for the forecast, but what about the written part of my coal power plant business plan?

This part is less error-prone, but here also software brings tremendous gains in productivity:

• Word processors don't include instructions and examples for each part of your business plan
• Word processors don't update your numbers automatically when they change in your forecast
• Word processors don't handle the formatting for you

Overall, while Word or Excel may be viable options for creating a coal power plant business plan for some entrepreneurs, it is by far not the best or most efficient solution.

• A business plan has 2 complementary parts: a financial forecast showcasing the expected growth, profits and cash flows of the business; and a written part which provides the context needed to judge if the forecast is realistic and relevant.
• Having an up-to-date business plan is the only way to keep visibility on your coal power plant's future cash flows.
• Using business plan software is the modern way of writing and maintaining business plans.

We hope that this practical guide gave you insights on how to write the business plan for your coal power plant. Do not hesitate to get in touch with our team if you still have questions.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• In-depth business plan structure
• How to present your sales and marketing strategy in your business plan?
• Guide for internal business plan
• Supplier business plan
• Key steps to write a business plan?
• Free business plan template

Know someone who owns or wants to start a coal power plant? Share this article with them!

Founder & CEO at The Business Plan Shop Ltd

Guillaume Le Brouster is a seasoned entrepreneur and financier.

Guillaume has been an entrepreneur for more than a decade and has first-hand experience of starting, running, and growing a successful business.

Prior to being a business owner, Guillaume worked in investment banking and private equity, where he spent most of his time creating complex financial forecasts, writing business plans, and analysing financial statements to make financing and investment decisions.

Guillaume holds a Master's Degree in Finance from ESCP Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Management from Paris Dauphine University.

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Coal: Research and Development to Support National Energy Policy (2007)

Chapter: 4 coal mining and processing, 4 coal mining and processing.

A lthough the United States has the vast coal resource described in the previous chapter, perhaps as much as 4 trillion tons, the key issue for policy makers is the amount of coal that is economically recoverable. This is not a fixed quantity, but depends on the geological resource, the market price, and the cost of mining. The particular characteristics of the coal mining industry create unique challenges as it endeavors to provide coal to the market at a competitive price, continually improve miner safety and health, and meet environmental and community requirements. This chapter provides a brief description of the characteristics of the coal industry in the United States, presents an overview of coal extraction and processing methods, and discusses the major issues associated with coal mining and processing. A summary of current research activities supported by state and federal agencies provides the context for recommendations for essential future research.

COAL MINING INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES

The U.S. coal industry serves a vital role in the nation’s economy by producing fuel for more than half of its electricity. Despite the industry’s importance, industry financial data for 2005—the strongest year for the coal industry in recent years—shows that it is a relatively small industry with revenues totaling $20 billion to $25 billion and net income between $1 billion and $2 billion. To put that in perspective, the entire industry taken collectively would rank as about the one-hundredth largest company (in terms of either revenue or net income) on the 2005 “Fortune 500” list, and it is less than 10 percent the size of Wal-Mart.

The U.S. coal industry has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last three decades. During this time, coal production has doubled, while the number of active miners has been halved and the number of mines has dropped by a factor of three ( Figure 4.1 ). This has resulted in the concentration of production in a smaller number of larger mines. The 100 largest mines in the country produced 805 million tons of coal in 2004 (72.5 percent of total U.S. production), while employing about 45 percent of the mining workforce (an average of 310 miners per mine) (EIA, 2005d; NMA, 2006a). The remaining approximately 1,300 mines produced 27.5 percent of the nation’s coal while employing 55 percent of the workforce (about 30 miners per mine). Nearly 70 percent of U.S. coal mines, many of which are comparatively small operations, are in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Since the 1970s, there has been a continuous increase in the proportion of coal produced by the western states. At present, states west of the Mississippi account for more than 55 percent of total tons produced ( Figure 4.2 ). Wyoming alone accounts for almost 36 percent of national coal production tonnage ( Table 4.1 ).

Considerable data are compiled on the basis of the union or non-union status of mines throughout the coal industry by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). At present, some 27.5 percent of the total coal mining workforce consists

FIGURE 4.1 Number of coal mines, production tonnage, and miner employment in the U.S. coal industry. Note that the left axis scale represents two parameters, production tonnage and number of mines. SOURCE: Based on data in NMA (2006b).

FIGURE 4.2 Domestic coal production during the last half century across the United States. SOURCE: EIA (2006a).

of union members, working at 147 mines (EIA, 2005d). The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) represents the largest number of workers (16.3 percent of the workforce) and the largest number of mines (131) of any of the unions. The average number of workers at a union mine is 140.

COAL MINING AND PROCESSING METHODS

A modern coal mine is a highly mechanized industrial plant that has to meet strict standards of engineering design and operation. The size, power, strength, monitoring and control features, and automation of mining equipment dwarf

TABLE 4.1 U.S. Top Coal Producing States in 2005

those of even a few decades ago. Coal mines require substantial capital investment in both permanent structures and depreciable mining equipment, exceeding $75 per annual ton of capacity in large underground coal mines and $30 or more per annual ton for large surface coal mines.

The overall coal mining process consists of several sequential stages: (1) exploration of a potentially economic coal seam to assess minable reserves, environmental issues, marketable reserves, potential markets, and permitting risks; (2) analysis and selection of a mining plan; (3) securing the markets; (4) developing the mine; (5) extracting the coal; (6) processing the coal if necessary; and (7) decommissioning the mine and releasing the property for post-mining use. The two essential requirements that must be fulfilled before a prospective coal mine can enter the development stage are confirmation that there are sufficient minable reserves of adequate quality with no unacceptable environmental or permitting risks, and confirmation of an assured or contracted market for a substantial fraction of the coal that will be mined.

Coal Mining

Coal seams can be mined by surface or underground methods ( Figure 4.3 ), with the choice of mining method dictated by both technical and economic factors. The most important technical factors are the thickness of the coal seam, the depth of the coal seam, the inclination of the seam, and the surface topography.

FIGURE 4.3 Schematic depiction of the range of different surface and underground types of coal mining, illustrating types of access to coal deposits and mining terminology. SOURCE: KGS (2006).

Each of these technical factors can set limiting conditions when considering the economic recoverability for a given coal, mining method, and market. The important economic parameters are the relative costs of mining coal by surface and underground methods including costs associated with any site-specific land use constraints, the cost of removing the material above the coal seam in the surface method, and the price of coal. The price for any particular coal is related directly to coal quality ( Box 4.1 and Table 4.2 ). Because more than 90 percent of the coal mined in the United States is used in power plants to generate electricity using steam turbines, the price for steam coal is dependent primarily on its heating value and sulfur content.

Relatively shallow coal deposits are generally extracted by surface mining, and deeper deposits are extracted by underground mining (more detailed descriptions of surface and underground mining processes can be found in Appendix E ). There are also situations in which a seam is mined by surface methods first, and then if adequate reserves are still available, the mine is developed for underground extraction. Where remaining reserves are limited, other methods of mining—such as auger mining or highwall mining—may be used.

Surface mining has many advantages compared to underground mining. In general, coal recovery is very high (85 to 90+ percent), compared to 40 to 70 percent in underground mines. The productivity of surface mines is generally higher than that of underground mines ( Figure 4.4 ), and health and safety statistics for surface mining are also generally better than those of underground mining. Surface-mined coal from the Powder River Basin is usually simply sized and screened in preparation for market, whereas underground-mined coal and surface-mined coal from the Interior and Appalachian basins often requires a greater amount of processing (see below) to improve its marketability. The cost per ton of mining coal by surface methods is generally lower than that by underground methods.

In the United States, in addition to a continuous growth in coal production since the 1960s, there has been a dramatic shift in production from underground mining to surface mining ( Figure 1.6 ). In the Powder River Basin (PRB), where deposits of coal more than 100 feet thick occur close to the surface, individual surface mines can produce more than 90 million tons each year. Underground coal mining is more common east of the Mississippi River, particularly in Appalachia. Some of the largest underground coal mines, each producing around 10 million tons annually, are located in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The largest underground mining complex in the United States produces about 20 million tons per year.

Bituminous coals in the eastern and central United States are mined by both surface and underground mining methods. Anthracite coal is mined exclusively in northeastern Pennsylvania, also by both underground and surface mining methods. Lignite and subbituminous coal production is centered in a small number of large mines ( Table 4.3 ). Subbituminous coal and lignite comprise about 50

percent of U.S. coal production by tonnage, but because of their lower heating values, only about 40 percent by heating value. The distinction between tonnage and energy content is particularly important when considering possible shifts in coal supply and demand by producing and consuming regions. Subbituminous coals are produced almost exclusively in the PRB of Wyoming and Montana. EIA’s forecasts of increased coal production over the next three decades (see

FIGURE 4.4 Productivity trends for surface and underground coal mines, illustrating the dramatic productivity increases over the past three decades. SOURCE: EIA (2006a).

TABLE 4.3 Coal Production by Rank for 2005

Chapter 2 ) rely heavily on increased production from this region for consumption east of the Mississippi River. Because it takes about 50 percent more subbituminous coal (on a tonnage basis) to replace a ton of bituminous coal in electricity generation, 1 this has significant implications for transportation infrastructure and power plant design and capacity.

When used for electricity generation, coal from the PRB generally produces more CO 2 per kilowatt-hour than the bituminous coal mined in the east. Combustion of subbituminous coal from the PRB produces about 226 pounds of CO 2 for every million Btu (British thermal units) of heat generated (on a net calorific basis), compared with about 211 pounds for the bituminous coal mined in the East (Winschel, 1990). Another possible constraint on the use of coal from the southern PRB might be future air quality regulation of coarse particulates, although Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposal to exempt mining and agricultural operations in its update of particulate standards (EPA, 2006c) may remove or defer this potential constraint.

An increasingly important by-product of U.S. coal production is coal mine methane recovered during or prior to mining, in addition to coal bed methane produced independently of mining. Captured methane may be used as a fuel source at the mine or, where feasible, distributed in natural gas pipelines. In recent years, coal bed methane production has increased and now comprises about 8 percent of the U.S. natural gas supply. An ancillary benefit of recovering coal mine methane is reduced atmospheric methane emissions, because methane is a potent greenhouse gas.

Coal Processing

“Raw” or “run-of-mine” coal can be processed 2 using physical separation methods to remove unwanted mineral matter to produce a “clean” coal. Processing adds value in several ways:

Removal of the mineral matter (or “ash”), 3 which is largely noncombustible and may constitute up to 65 percent of the raw coal, increases the heating value of the coal on a mass basis. 4 Although some combustible material is lost as part of the cleaning process, the removal of unwanted material reduces the mass and volume of coal for a given heating value thereby reducing shipping costs as well as minimizing coal handling and ash management costs for the end user.

Processing allows greater control over the “quality” of the coal—principally ash and moisture—which improves its consistency for end users, such as electricity generators or coke manufacturers. Improved and consistent quality increases the efficiency and availability of steam boilers and is particularly important for the quality of metallurgical coke.

Physical processing (see Appendix E ) can, to some extent, reduce sulfur and trace element contents, particularly on a heating value basis. However, generally coal cleaning is not practiced primarily for this purpose except for the metallurgical coal market.

The decision whether or not to process a particular raw coal depends on the coal and its intended market. The subbituminous coal of the Powder River Basin is almost always shipped to market raw because it has inherently low ash content and poor “washability,” 5 and the region has low water availability—a critical requirement for conventional coal beneficiation.

Most coal preparation plants are in the eastern states, with more than 80 percent of the plants and almost 80 percent of capacity located in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky (Fiscor, 2005; see Appendix E ). The 11 coal preparation plants in the western states are located at bituminous

coal mines. Wyoming—the largest coal-producing state in the country—has no coal preparation plants, largely because the subbituminous Powder River Basin coal is low in ash. However, PRB coal has a high level of inherent moisture (~30 percent), which has stimulated some interest in thermal dewatering of the coal to increase its heating value and reduce its transportation costs (see Box 4.2 ).

MAJOR COAL MINING AND PROCESSING ISSUES

The conditions that will be encountered in future coal mines will undoubtedly be different from those of today—the more easily mined coal has already been extracted. As shallower coal is depleted and seams with greater amounts of overburden 6 are mined, surface mining will become more expensive because stripping ratios 7 will increase and multiple benches 8 will be needed. This will increase the number of unit operations and the associated cost. In underground mining, the mines of the future will have to access seams that are deeper, thinner, or thicker, often with higher gas content and potentially with greater ground-control issues. Overlying or underlying seams may have been mined, or it may be necessary to mine multiple seams simultaneously to meet increased production requirements. These more difficult mining situations will have an effect on economic decisions related to mine profitability, on the health and safety of mine workers as they encounter more challenging or different mining requirements, on the technical ability to mine, and on the management of waste materials generated by mining.

Small mines (i.e., with annual production less than 2 million tons), which currently produce more than 25 percent of coal in the United States, play an important role in ensuring adequate coal supply because they have historically started and ceased production as demand and prices fluctuate. They also play a critical role in fully utilizing national coal resources, particularly those resources that may not be mined by larger operations. 9 The population of small coal mines has been decreasing and is projected to continue to decline. However, small mines will continue to exist, and the technical and societal issues they will face in the future should be considered in agency plans.

Miner Health and Safety

Although statistics show substantially improved health and safety conditions in mines in recent years—with continuous decreases in both the incidence and

the severity of diseases, disasters, fatal accidents, and nonfatal accidents—the health and safety of miners remain a major concern for government, industry, and labor. As the coal mine disasters in early 2006 demonstrated (MSTTC, 2006), the safe operation of mines remains a major challenge—there needs to be constant monitoring and control of health and safety threats as well as continuous safety training and improvements in operating practices.

Past experience has shown that changes in mining operations or practices (e.g., introduction of new equipment and systems, mining of virgin areas, infusion of new workers) all have the potential to create a more hazardous environment. Similarly, experience has shown that adequate engineering controls and a knowledgeable workforce are the prerequisites for a safer work environment. Continued health and safety research is needed to identify new hazards and hazard sources as well as to improve the engineering controls for existing hazards, particularly through the development of reliable monitoring and intelligent control systems. The likelihood of deeper mines in the future means that there has to be increased attention to methane control (including methane capture before, during, or after mining), dust control, ignition sources, fires, and explosions. Recent disasters have shown that there are major knowledge gaps and technology needs in the areas of escape and survival, and emergency preparedness and rescue, emphasizing the need for research to develop systematic and comprehensive

risk management protocols that can then be applied to individual mines (MSTTC, 2006). In addition, since powered haulage and machinery now have the dubious honor of surpassing ground-control incidents (e.g., roof falls) as the major source of accidents in mines, there is a clear need for better understanding of the hazards that are likely to be encountered as equipment sizes and operational conditions change. New technology for better geological characterization as part of mine planning, better monitoring sensors, and increased remote control and automation of mining equipment have the potential to decrease miners’ exposure to hazardous conditions. Mining of deeper seams, multiple seams, thicker seams, and seams underlying or overlying mined-out seams will all require a greater understanding of strata control aspects. The risks associated with mining coal seams adjacent to previously mined-out seams, with their actual or potential void spaces, emphasize the need for accurate, comprehensive, and readily available mine maps showing the distribution of older mine workings.

Exploration and Mining

Adequate information on the nature and characteristics of a coal seam prior to mining is vitally important for safe and efficient mine operations. Any unexpected anomalies in a coal seam and associated strata, such as sand channels, washouts, faults, and roof instability, can substantially impair mining productivity and create safety hazards. Research to devise improved techniques for imaging coal seams and associated strata, including coal quality parameters, prior to and during mining is needed for mine planning, permitting, and operations (NRC, 2002b). The Martin County coal impoundment failure (NRC, 2002a) and the Quecreek inundation (PDEP, 2002) illustrated the need for increased accuracy and reliability of the geological information used for mine and mine facilities planning.

At present, the drilling and blasting required for overburden fragmentation is the major limitation on increased surface mining productivity, and the development of improved rock fragmentation practices is an essential requirement for increased surface mine production. For underground mining, the increased use of longwall mining (see Appendix E ) offers the greatest potential for higher productivity. While deeper reserves will be ideal for the increased application of longwalls, a number of limitations to the current production potential of longwalls, in particular the need for better roof support and improved coal haulage systems, must be overcome. Other areas in which the development of advanced technologies offers considerable potential for increased productivity are the continuous monitoring of produced coal and the development of improved remote control, automatic control, and autonomous systems.

Selective mining and blending are two practices that have been advocated to decrease the handling of unnecessary waste during mining and processing, and to increase the utilization of all coals for a range of purposes. While the bulk

mining methods of the present do not generally favor such practices, these areas need to be explored to determine whether they offer potential for increased mining productivity.

Even when exploration shows promise of an economically minable deposit, the elapsed time from first investment in planning until a mine enters full production, after passing through the permitting, construction, and marketing processes, can take anywhere from seven to fifteen years for a large operation. Although smaller operations in established coal mining districts may take less time, two to five years is normal even in these situations. This time delay can significantly impact the economic feasibility of opening a new mine and will have to be minimized if the higher production scenarios for the future are to be achieved.

Research to improve coal processing has considerable potential to optimize the use of the nation’s coal resources by increasing production and productivity and improving environmental protection. The effect of improved marginal economics by increasing coal recovery can be significant—in one case, a study showed that a 1 percent increase in recovery of coal could increase profits by 25 percent. 10 This could have the effect of making an uneconomic reserve available for production, thus extending the nation’s economic reserve base.

There are large volumes of western bituminous coals with high ash content (>20 percent) that cannot be cleaned by conventional methods because there are insufficient water resources where the coal is mined to permit conventional wet coal processing. Also, a considerable amount of surface-mined subbituminous coal is lost because of out-of-seam dilution with mineral matter—an annual loss of as much as 10 million tons was reported for the Arch Coal Black Thunder Mine (which produces about 80 million tons per year). 11 The development of dry coal beneficiation processes designed for these coals could greatly increase recoverable reserves.

Improved coal processing also offers the potential to minimize existing environmental problems and potential future issues. There is approximately 2 billion tons of waste fine coal in “gob” piles resulting from past processing techniques in eastern bituminous coal fields—Pennsylvania alone reports more than 250 million tons of waste coal (McGinty, 2004). Many of these piles are environmental liabilities being dealt with under the federal Abandoned Mine Land reclamation program, but a growing number are being viewed as potential opportunities for utilization. Pennsylvania has 14 sites at which circulating

fluidized bed boilers are operating on waste coal for electricity or process steam generation.

Improved coal processing also offers potential for responding to future environmental requirements. For example, the development of new or modified flotation processes permit fuel oil to be replaced as a froth flotation collector if it is prohibited because of disposal concerns.

There are two technical areas where the development of improved coal processing technologies offers the greatest potential to increase resource recovery (Peterson et al., 2001; NRC, 2002b; CAST, 2003):

The use of improved information technology, perhaps in conjunction with improved online analysis capabilities, to optimize the performance and efficiency of existing unit operations; and

The development and deployment of better materials with which to construct vessels, separation devices, and conduits.

Mining and the Environment

The primary needs for research in the broad environmental area are to support the regulation of existing and future mining operations and to mitigate the effects of past mining practices.

Existing Mine Operations. There is still an incomplete understanding of how strata behave after coal is extracted from both surface and underground mines, and the hydrologic consequences of mining are not fully understood. For surface mining, the properties of the altered subsurface—particularly the leaching and permeability characteristics—are likely to be different compared to those existing prior to mining. For underground mining, the collapse of strata above a coal seam into the mined void can propagate all the way to the surface, damaging buildings and disrupting the quantity and quality of surface and subsurface water flows.

Disposal of mine waste can be a significant problem, particularly where the coal has to be cleaned before shipment (e.g., see NRC, 1975; 1981; 2002a; 2006). There is a need for enhanced understanding of the physical and chemical behavior of spoil stored in valleys or waste—from coal combustion or coal preparation plants—that is disposed in surface or underground mines. Waste management is a major problem where land either is not available or is more valuable for other productive uses. Increased research to develop productive uses of mine waste offers considerable potential to reduce waste disposal issues.

Mine Decommissioning and Closure. Federal regulations for decommissioning and closure of mining operations are administered by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), and the EPA—in some cases state and local governments

have additional requirements. The major decommissioning and closure activities are (1) sealing of all access to underground mine areas, (2) removal of all surface facilities, and (3) reclamation of surface mine areas (generally carried out concurrently with mining operations) and the surface areas of underground mines. Underground and surface coal mines present different challenges for decommissioning and closure. The critical factors in underground mining are the effects of subsidence and hydrology, both of which require continued monitoring and control. For surface mines, the critical factors relate to drainage and treatment of water and to erosion and sedimentation of the slopes, the waste and spoil banks, and the final pit. Continued use of the surface mine infrastructure (e.g., roads, buildings, utilities) depends to a large extent on the post-mining requirements described in the mining plan. A mining plan that is well integrated with a community master plan can result in optimum post-mining use of this infrastructure.

Abandoned Mined Lands. A range of environmental issues (e.g., subsidence, fires, acid mine drainage, waste disposal sites, derelict lands) associated with abandoned mined land (AML) continues to cause major concerns and threats to the health, safety, and general welfare of communities. This problem is particularly acute in the older coal mining districts of the eastern United States, specifically in the Appalachian hill country. Although mine closure today is a rigorously regulated process requiring detailed technical and financial analysis during the planning and operation stages for a mine—and ensuring financial and legal responsibility for post-mining closure—the nation continues to grapple with the effects of past mining practices. Additional research is required to develop and demonstrate more effective and sustainable solutions to the problems of acid mine drainage, mine fires, and the utilization of waste piles from AML sites.

COAL MINING AND PROCESSING R&D PROGRAMS

Coal mining research and development (R&D) are carried out by a range of organizations and entities—federal government agencies, state government agencies, equipment manufacturers, academic institutions, and industry. In general, the scope of and motivation for research are determined by the relevance and potential impact of the problems that need to be dealt with by these various stakeholders. Industry participants in mining research include individual companies and mining company associations.

Research Programs in Federal Agencies

While the federal government continues to have extensive involvement in the regulation of the coal mining industry, its support for mining research has decreased substantially over the past 10 years. At present, federal research is focused primarily on health and safety. Some research is being done on environmental issues, but support for research aimed at advanced mining technologies

and practices has progressively declined since the closure of the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) in 1995 and is now essentially eliminated (see Appendix C ).

Engineering and Technology Development. The now-defunct Mining Industry of the Future (IOF) program, administered by the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, supported engineering and technology development with a focus on improving the energy efficiency, resource utilization, and competitiveness of the mining industry. Although not exclusively focused on extraction or on coal mining, many of the program outputs were applicable to the extraction phase of the coal fuel cycle. At present, coal extraction receives no support from the DOE-Office of Fossil Energy (FE) Coal R&D program, which is focused primarily on utilization aspects (see Chapter 6 ).

Relatively little is being done by the federal government to address coal preparation issues. The Mining IOF program funded some work that was relevant to minerals separation (as part of a much broader program and not exclusively coal related), but new funding for this program (never more than $5 million per year) has been terminated and the program is being closed out. DOE-FE had a solid fuels program, although it tended to fund more advanced work—such as chemical coal cleaning—than processes related to conventional coal preparation. However, there has been no administration request for funding for this area in recent years, and the program is essentially defunct. Some research programs addressing a variety of mineral separation issues (i.e., not exclusive to coal) have been funded at the federal level through small direct congressional appropriations.

There is a low level of support for fundamental research in the earth sciences and engineering disciplines (geosciences, material sciences, rock mechanics, etc.) by the National Science Foundation that has potential applications in the development of improved technologies for the coal industry.

Health and Safety. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Mining Program is the principal focus for mining health and safety research (NRC, 2007b), consolidated at the Pittsburgh and Spokane research centers. The NIOSH Mining Program has seven areas of health and safety research activity, addressing respiratory diseases, hearing loss, cumulative musculoskeletal injuries, traumatic injuries, disaster prevention, rock safety engineering, and surveillance and training. NIOSH and MSHA appear to work closely together to prioritize health and safety research, with NIOSH carrying out the R&D in response to the regulatory environment established by MSHA. The 2005 NIOSH budget for mine health and safety research ($30 million) represents a decrease of approximately $12 million in nominal dollars for health and safety research compared to 1994-1995 funding.

Reclamation and Rehabilitation of Abandoned Mined Lands. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement was established in the Department of the Interior in 1977 following passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), with the primary role of regulating surface

coal mining. Among the stated purposes of SMCRA were to support research, training programs, and the establishment of research and training centers in the states on various aspects of mineral production. Although the involvement of OSM with aspects of extraction research is minimal, OSM does have limited technical and applied science activities in support of its regulatory mission. In particular, OSM, in cooperation with the states, plays a major role with regard to the reclamation and rehabilitation of abandoned mined lands.

The environmental problems associated with active and abandoned mines and their abatement, particularly land reclamation and water quality maintenance, and the proper handling and disposal of the spoils and wastes from mining operations (e.g., mountain top coal mining, coal combustion residues), also receive regulatory attention from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA is also involved in a program to promote the capture and utilization of coal bed methane. Overall, coal mining research in EPA is limited to support for its regulatory role.

Mining Regulation. The Mine Safety and Health Administration, in the Department of Labor, provides technical support and training services to its personnel and to personnel from the mining industry through its Pittsburgh Safety and Health Technology Center and the National Mine Health and Safety Academy. The direct involvement of MSHA in funding mining research is limited because of its primary regulatory role. However, MSHA undertakes field investigations, laboratory studies, and cooperative research activities on health and safety issues in support of its inspection and technical support functions. Further, MSHA evaluates new equipment and materials for use in mines at its Approval and Certification Center. It also supports state miner training activities through its state grants program.

State Government Research Programs

State government involvement in coal mining and processing research is primarily dependent on the importance of the mining industry to each particular state. The major coal-producing states—Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Illinois—have or have had agencies with specific responsibilities for health, safety, and environmental issues associated with coal mining. Further, mining industry organizations in these states work closely with state agencies to support research programs that address the specific needs of coal reserve estimation and coal mining operations. These state agencies also work with their corresponding federal agencies, particularly for the acquisition of federal grants to support industry’s needs. Some state governments have provided grants for coal processing research in academic departments (e.g., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University of Kentucky, Southern Illinois University) or at university-affiliated research centers (e.g., University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research and West Virginia University’s National Center for Coal and Energy Research).

Product Engineering by Equipment Manufacturers

The mining industry is truly international—not only are mining operations carried out globally, but there is considerable capital, knowledge, and mined-materials flow across international boundaries to satisfy the global demand for mined and processed materials. The coal industries in different countries have much in common, particularly with regard to health, safety, and environmental issues. Because of these similarities, there is considerable exchange of research results—developments in one country are quickly incorporated into mining practices in other countries. This global interaction is particularly facilitated by mining equipment manufacturers. The consolidation of coal mining equipment manufacturers over the past three decades and the broad applicability of equipment across a range of mining situations have led manufacturers to work with mining clients and their own suppliers to develop evolutionary improvements to their products. In addition, equipment manufacturers invest substantial resources to improve the durability and reliability of mining equipment. For example, one leading mining equipment manufacturer indicated that its global engineering budget was approximately $40 million, with about 25 percent spent on engineering development activities that are related mostly to evolutionary advances and software development.

Some equipment manufacturers have worked in partnership with government agencies and mining companies to develop and demonstrate new concepts (e.g., three major equipment manufacturers are members of the Australian CRCMining program; see Box 4.3 ). For some equipment manufacturers, mining equipment is only one of many product lines. The applied engineering research and development work that they conduct is generally fundamental to their production and materials processes, and the research is often proprietary and not generally available to the wider industry.

Other Coal Mining and Processing Research

Cross-industry research under the aegis of coal companies or coal industry organizations, or with support from industry organizations, appears to be minimal. There are no longer organizations such as Bituminous Coal Research, Inc. (BCR) that used to work on coal mining and coal preparation issues. Instead, industry’s emphasis is on improvements to existing technologies—the remarkable increases of mining productivity since the mid-1970s ( Figure 4.4 ) are a testimony to the development and adoption of evolutionary improvements in mining technology and practices. Several coal companies work in partnership with government agencies and academic institutions on coal mining research projects. The importance to researchers of access to operating mines and input from mining company experts is particularly worth noting.

The National Mining Association (NMA) earlier outlined its vision and goals for the Mining IOF program (NMA, 1998). This recognized the importance of developing research priorities for new technologies and joint sponsorships of chosen projects, and resulted in an NMA-DOE partnership that supported several roadmaps as part of the Mining IOF program. Three specific roadmaps ( Mining Industry Roadmap for Crosscutting Technologies , 1999; Mineral Processing Technology Roadmap , 2000; and Exploration and Mining Technology Roadmap , 2002) resulted in projects funded by DOE.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS— COAL MINING AND PROCESSING

The more difficult mining conditions that will be encountered in the future will require improved methods to protect the health and safety of mine work-

ers, careful environmental management of mined lands and waste products, and improved productivity and recovery to optimize use of the nation’s coal resource.

Improved Mine Worker Health and Safety

A range of factors increase health and safety risks to the coal mining workforce, including the introduction of new equipment and systems; the commencement of mining in virgin areas; the infusion of new workers; and the mining of multiple seams, seams that are thinner, thicker, or deeper than those customarily mined at present and new seams that underlie or overlie previously mined-out seams. All of these factors are likely to apply to some degree in future mines, irrespective of whether the higher production scenarios suggested in some forecasts eventuate. If they do materialize, then these risks are likely to become even more pronounced.

There are major knowledge gaps and technology needs in the areas of survival, escape, communications systems (both surface-to-underground and underground-to-underground), and emergency preparedness and rescue. Additional risk factors that are likely to apply in the deeper mines of the future are the potential hazards related to methane control, dust control, ignition sources, fires, and explosions.

Greater understanding and better prediction of strata behavior to prevent unanticipated 12 roof collapse, particularly problems associated with roof and side fall during thick seam extraction, are essential for maintaining and improving worker safety.

Federal support for health and safety research significantly decreased about a decade ago, and has essentially remained constant since that time.

Recommendation: Health and safety research and development should be expanded to anticipate increased hazards in future coal mines. These R&D efforts should emphasize improved methane control, improved mine ventilation, improved roof control, reduced repetitive and trau matic injuries, reduced respiratory diseases, improved escape and rescue procedures, improved communications systems, and research to reduce explosions and fires. This should be coupled with improved training of the mining workforce in all aspects of mine safety. R&D should also be directed toward lowering the exposure of mine workers to hazardous conditions, particularly through expanded use of remote sensing and the automation of mining operations.

Most mining health and safety research by the federal government is carried out by the Mining Program at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Technology-related activities in the Mine Safety and Health Administration are limited to technical support and training services for its personnel and those from the mining industry. With NIOSH carrying out the research needed to improve mine safety and to support MSHA’s regulatory role, these two agencies play a vital role in coal mine health and safety. The committee estimates that the enhanced health and safety program proposed here will require an additional $35 million to provide total annual R&D funding of approximately $60 million and recommends that NIOSH continue as the lead agency with enhanced coordination with MSHA and industry.

Improved Environmental Protection

Coal mining has environmental impacts on air, water, and land. Actions taken to meet federal and state environmental regulations already respond to and ameliorate many of these effects. However, there are gaps in the knowledge base related to a range of environmental issues that need to be addressed, and future changes in environmental requirements may drive the need for new coal mining and beneficiation technology.

As mining extracts coal from deeper and operationally more difficult seams by both surface and underground methods, it is likely that many existing environmental issues and concerns will be exacerbated. New concerns, particularly related to greater disturbance of hydrologic systems, ground subsidence, and waste management at mines and preparation plants, are likely to arise.

Inadequate understanding of post-mining strata behavior and the associated hydrologic consequences of mining in both surface and underground mines affects mine permitting, mine development, environmental mitigation, and post-mining land use, including use for waste management.

Research offers considerable potential to mitigate the effects of past mining practices, particularly acid mine drainage on abandoned mine lands.

The regulatory environment (framed by such statutes as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts) and technical support programs administered by both state and federal agencies, and implemented by mining companies through their compliance practices, are inadequately supported by existing research programs.

Recommendation: Additional research is needed to mitigate the adverse environmental impacts associated with past, existing, and future coal mining and processing. Research activities should focus particularly on developing techniques to mitigate the alteration and collapse of strata overlying mined areas, to model the hydrological impacts of coal mining, to improve mine mapping and void detection, to improve the stability of

spoils on steep slopes, and to improve the construction and monitoring of impoundments.

Both the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and the Environmental Protection Agency, although primarily regulatory agencies, fund limited R&D activities in support of their missions. The committee estimates that annual funding of approximately $70 million will be required to conduct the research necessary to adequately respond to the environmental impacts of past, existing, and future mining operations. The committee recommends that OSM should be the lead agency in this effort, and it should coordinate closely with related EPA and state research activities.

Improved Mine Productivity and Resource Optimization

The productivity of U.S. coal mines increased two- to three fold in the past three decades, largely due to evolutionary improvements, most notably the introduction of longwall mining in eastern underground mines and the development of large surface operations in the West. The sustained production and productivity increases that followed these changes resulted from incremental improvements in equipment and mining practices by mining companies and equipment manufacturers, and there has been little research and development on truly advanced mining technologies.

The development of advanced technologies, such as thin-seam underground mining technology or dry processing methods for western surface-mined coals, will present opportunities to recover a significant portion of potentially recoverable coal that currently is not extracted and may be permanently lost. In situ extraction or utilization methods, while they have not found broad application in the past, may become attractive as more easily mined reserves are exhausted. Many advanced mining technologies with the potential to reduce mine hazards, such as remote sensing, continuous monitoring at the mine face, remote control, and autonomous systems, also have the potential to increase production and productivity and improve resource recovery. Although the national coal resource is truly vast, the economically recoverable reserve base will depend on mining costs that in turn are determined by labor, environmental, and technological factors.

Small percentage increases in coal recovery through improved coal preparation processes and improved mining methods, perhaps including in situ extraction, have the potential to significantly expand economically recoverable reserves of both eastern and western coals. The development of these technologies, increasingly needed as coal reserve quality decreases over time, will help to maximize utilization of the nation’s coal resource.

The global transfer of coal mining and processing technology within the industry is facilitated by international equipment manufacturers, who work

closely with suppliers and the larger mining clients on evolutionary product developments. However, there is little evidence of the efficient transfer of technologies from outside the mining industry. This is at least partly due to the relatively small market that the coal mining industry represents to potential technology suppliers and the scarcity of coal mining research at academic institutions and national laboratories.

There is minimal federal support for the research and development of advanced mining technologies and practices that are necessary to optimize utilization of the nation’s coal resource.

Recommendation: There should be renewed support for advanced coal mining and processing research and development to optimize use of the nation’s coal resources by increasing the amount of coal that is economi cally minable through technological advances that accommodate health, safety, and environmental requirements. The focus of this R&D should be on increased integration of modern technology in the extraction and processing phases of coal production, with particular emphasis on emerging advances in materials, sensors, and controls; monitoring; and automated mining systems.

Although there is currently little federal funding for advanced mining technology to improve resource recovery, in the past the Department of Energy successfully partnered with the National Mining Association as part of the Mining Industry of the Future program. In addition, there are government-industry-academic cooperative models in other countries that are successful in directing and funding mining research (e.g., see Box 4.3 ). Research to develop advanced mining technologies requires not only cooperation among relevant federal agencies, but also participation by academic institutions as well as funding, guidance, and technology transfer by industry. The committee estimates that advanced coal mining and processing R&D will require a total of approximately $60 million per year and recommends that this funding should comprise $30 million in federal support, with cost sharing from non-federal sources. The DOE Office of Fossil Energy should be the lead federal agency and should coordinate with the National Science Foundation, OSM, NIOSH, academic institutions, and the coal industry to ensure that all research activities carefully consider the environmental, reclamation, and health and safety aspects of coal mining.

Coal will continue to provide a major portion of energy requirements in the United States for at least the next several decades. It is imperative that accurate information describing the amount, location, and quality of the coal resources and reserves be available to fulfill energy needs. It is also important that the United States extract its coal resources efficiently, safely, and in an environmentally responsible manner. A renewed focus on federal support for coal-related research, coordinated across agencies and with the active participation of the states and industrial sector, is a critical element for each of these requirements.

Coal focuses on the research and development needs and priorities in the areas of coal resource and reserve assessments, coal mining and processing, transportation of coal and coal products, and coal utilization.

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• Coal Testing Laboratory
• Applications + Industries

Coal Testing Applications

Coal is technically classified as a sedimentary rock.  It is found in naturally occurring underground seams and composed mainly of organic matter and various mineral aggregates. Coal is formed in a process known as coalification, where dead plant matter first decays into peat and is then converted into coal by the further heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years.  The coalification process gives rise to different ranks of coal depending upon the length of time the process continues.  The major ranks of coal in increasing order of their maturation are lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous and anthracite.  The main elemental components of coal are carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen; varying in weight basis percentages depending upon the specific rank.  Typical analyses of coal are either presented in the form of a proximate analysis (moisture, ash volatile matter and fixed carbon,) or as an ultimate analysis (ash, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur). Coal also contains various inorganic elemental components depending upon the amount of mineral matter present.  The mineral analyses of coal are typically presented in the elemental oxide basis in ash while trace metal analyses are usually presented in a whole coal basis.

Applications

The main use of coal is as a fossil fuel.   Over 60 % of the coal mined around the world is used for the production of electricity.  When coal is burned in the presence of oxygen, heat energy is released.  Thermal coals have high calorific values, which when burned in large industrial boilers, release heat which is used to convert water into steam, which in turn drive large turbines to produce an electric current.

Up to 20 % of coal mined globally is used in the metallurgical industry.  When heated in the absence of air, bituminous coals exhibit a plastic-like nature, which after removing moisture and most of the volatile matter, resolidifies into a porous mass high in carbon content known as coke.  Coke is produced from metallurgical coals which are heated to temperatures of over 1000 °C in large coke ovens.  The resulting cokes are much higher in carbon content than the contributing coals and are used as both fuels and reducing agents in the smelting of irons and ferro alloys and in the forging of steel.

The remaining 20 % of coal is used in various industrial applications, such as in the production of various chemicals, dyes, medicines, insecticides, fertilizers, explosives, synthetic fibers, and even food preservatives.  Coal is also used as a fuel and for drying in the paper, cement and glass industries as well as used in gasification and liquefaction technologies, and in the production of activated carbons.

The world’s leading miners of coal are China, the United States, Australia and India.  Leading consumers of coal are China, United States, India, and Russia.  Of the coal mined in the United States, approximately 85 % is used domestically and 15 % is exported overseas, mainly through ports located on the east and gulf coasts.

Submit a Coal Sample

Our process, independent coal testing laboratory.

McCreath Laboratories will send trained, experienced technicians, to take a represented sample for you.  Whether stored in stationary stockpiles or in process of transport or loading onboard barges or vessels, our technicians have the training, tools, and experience to collect a representative sample according to the applicable ASTM or ISO standards, ensuring that all subsequent laboratory testing is accurate and reliable.  With our mobile crushing units, most coals can be partially processed on-site, increasing efficiency, maintaining sample integrity, and reducing the amount of material taken off-site. With various locations throughout major United States ports, McCreath’s coal testing laboratories can easily access your materials.

Testing Process

McCreath Laboratories will employ both ASTM and ISO standard methods during the coal laboratory analysis.  The methods are continually verified through the use of certified reference materials.  Typical coal analysis performed are as follows:

For more information on the analysis of coals, contact us .

• Capabilities

Standard Labs is committed to providing coal testing and analysis of the highest quality to the energy and environmental industries around the world. Part of this dedication is encompassed by our expansive coal lab services: with 25 laboratories in the US that specialize in coal testing and analysis, Standard Labs combines cutting-edge innovation with over half a century of experience to serve all major coal-producing areas.

Our skills extend beyond coal analysis, testing and sampling-we also provide petroleum coke analysis and testing, metallurgical coal testing, ultimate and proximate analysis, and float/sink washability study.

To learn more about each of our lab service capabilities, please view the PDF below.

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Coal mining, extraction and beneficiation

Increase combustion efficiency and save on coal processing costs

Independent from the use for power plants, steel making or anode production, coal mining and beneficiation must ensure consistent quality of coal under sustainable conditions. 

Malvern Panalytical delivers tailored analytical solutions to control ash percentage in coal, to monitoring deleterious elements and moisture and to predict graphitization or calorific value in coal mines and power plants. Either direct analysis in the field, on-line sensors to predict coal grades, laboratory equipment or complete automation solutions , Malvern Panalytcial’s specialist develop together with process engineers, laboratory- and quality managers the optimal solution tailored to your specific needs.

Coal mining

Mines and beneficiation plants benefit directly from quality control and optimization of the coal loadout. Total ash, ash composition, sulphur, moisture content and calorific value are usually front-rank information to increase blending process, combustion efficiency and value of the coal. 

Malvern Panalytical’s solutions for real time monitoring of coal on conveyor belts (elemental and mineralogical) with its fast feedback loops enable fast counteractions on changing coal composition directly in the mine and effective blending. Control of the moisture content on the conveyor belt (NIR) together with accurate monitoring of the composition of coal before shipment guaranties constant quality to avoids penalties. 

CNA³ elemental cross-belt analyzer

The Minerals edition of Zetium

Coal beneficiation.

Predictive real-time analysis in the mine

Beneficiation of coal is only economical if the benefits realized in the power plants are greater than the overall costs for coal beneficiation. Main drivers for optimizing coal feed for power plants are: 

• Savings in transport costs by not transporting waste 
• Reduce capital costs in power plants with washed uniform coal 
• Regulating / standardization of the quality of coal feed. 

This requires accurate monitoring of the moisture, mineral content, particle size, graphitization and calorific value of the coal before, during and after the beneficiation process. 

We developed solutions based on laser diffraction for monitoring the particle size of coal in real-time as well as in a laboratory. The mineralogical composition of the mineral matter and/or fly ash can be analysed easily and fast with X-ray diffraction (XRD). In addition to the phase content XRD can also provide information about the degree of the graphitization and crystallite size of coal. 

Our benchtop X-ray fluorescence spectrometers for elemental analysis are portable and easy to use in a production environment. 

For on-line monitoring directly on the conveyer belt, we offer solutions for: 

• Monitoring the elemental composition and calorific value based on PFTNA technology (pulsed fast and thermal neutron activation) 
• Monitoring of mineralogical composition, moisture and ash content in coal in real-time based on near infrared spectroscopy (NIR).

Aeris Minerals edition

Epsilon 4 Mining & minerals

Insitec range

Mastersizer range

Combustion in power plants.

To save capital and operating costs of power plants, efficient combustion requires constant monitoring of coal feed and ash. The main technical benefits of process control in power plants are: 

• Load-in control to check contract specifications 
• Verification of consistency or intrinsic deviation of the whole lot of material 
• Optimization of coal yard management 
• Blending of coal to constant target quality 
• Optimal and safe use of low cost / low quality coal 
• Control of bunker feed and ash properties 
• Optimization of combustion parameters 
• Assurance of optimal running conditions of the boiler 
• Limit slagging Increased boiler efficiency and lifetime of burners and mills 
• Reduction of derating, boiler outages and maintenance costs. 

In addition, real-time sensors for ash monitoring based on near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) enable the prediction of boiler efficiency and fly ash output of power plants. The accurate analysis of the elemental composition of fly-ash in the laboratory with dedicated X-ray fluorescence (XRF) ensures an optimal quality to sell it to the building materials industry.

Environment protection 

Sustainability and protection of the environment are the key focus for power plants. Our solutions to controlling toxic emissions through elemental analysis , such as sulphites and other volatile compounds present in the coal, are proven to be the perfect tool to analyse according to international norms and regulations.

Application notes

Analysis of inorganic major and minor compounds in un-ashed coal samples prepared as pressed powder, zetium - routine analysis of coal fly ash, analysis of coal and related materials by xrd.

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Mineral Labs Inc. is distinguished in various sampling and laboratory concepts, including but not limited to: truck auger sampling services, mechanical sampling systems, rapid laboratory services for quality control, and innovative analytical and sampling techniques.

With 18 laboratories located across 6 states, Mineral Labs is well equipped to provide our clients with precise analysis and monitoring, thus enabling our clients to accurately market and value their coal. With a large workforce of over 200 employees, we are able to keep turnaround time to a minimum. To reassure clients that Mineral Labs is providing the most accurate coal analysis available, quality examinations are performed within our laboratory on a regular basis. These quality examinations guarantee data meets international quality standards, as well as confirming our coal results are accurate and timely.

As Environmental concerns grow, Mineral Labs is on the forefront offering a complete package in coal analysis of services including:

• Trace Metals

Environmental Impact Studies – TCLP analysis

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Bias Testing

Short proximate and proximate analysis.

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• Hardgrove Grindability Index
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Sieve Analysis

For additional Coal Analysis and pricing information call or email our sales department at (606)349-6145 or [email protected]. We have laboratories dedicated to Coal Analysis and Coal Sampling located through Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Florida, and Alabama.

Learn More About Mineral Labs Inc. Coal Analysis Services With Our Downloadable PDF

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Mineral Labs offers a variety of special services to enhance our standard analytical programs. Inquire today about how our many different lab locations can assist you with your environmental testing.

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• Corporate information

Coal Authority business plan 2022 to 2025

• Coal Authority

Updated 10 October 2022

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1. Who we are

The Coal Authority exists to manage the legacy from Great Britain’s coal mining past. So much of our 3 nation’s history has been shaped by the natural minerals under our soil.

None more than coal, which has provided heat, steam and power for hundreds and hundreds of years. Coal was nationalised in 1947, which is why the UK Government own the majority of underground workings and remaining coal reserves under England, Scotland and Wales, along with the responsibility for many of the associated challenges and hazards.

As domestic coal mining has reduced, and humanity recognises the impacts of burning carbon on our climate, we are seeking alternative ways to maximise low carbon opportunities from closed and abandoned mines such as mine water heat networks.

These can provide heat for homes and businesses, while also delivering net zero carbon and levelling up outcomes for communities whose identity was built from coal and who could now benefit from low carbon, social and economic benefits from the warm water in the historic mining assets.

We work with partners, communities and customers to listen, learn and take practical action to support them to create safer, cleaner and greener communities.

We are a 24/7 emergency response organisation, with staff across Great Britain ready to respond and take action to keep people safe and provide peace of mind.

Extensive coalfields exist across Great Britain and it is estimated that 25% of homes and businesses across Great Britain are located above former coal mines.

The vast majority of people will never experience any problems from that, but for those who do we are here to provide support and expertise.

The Coal Authority is a non-departmental public body and partner organisation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ( BEIS ).

The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP, Minister of State (Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change) and sponsoring minister for the Coal Authority, says:

The Coal Authority undertake vital work to keep people, drinking water and the environment safe from the legacy impacts of our mining heritage. At the same time, they work innovatively with people across the public and private sectors to seek opportunity, such as mine water heating, which will deliver low carbon, economic and social benefit to communities across the coalfield and help them to level up. BEIS are committed to supporting the frontline work of the Coal Authority and encouraging their innovative work in support of key UK Government priorities including the transition to net zero, levelling up and climate and nature action. Their work with BEIS and with other government departments and agencies, the devolved governments, local councils, and commercial partners helps people make informed decisions, creates value for the taxpayer and contributes to creating a more sustainable vision for Great Britain.

2. Foreword

We are delighted to share with you our business plan, which explains our priorities for our core work including:

• emergency response for subsidence and hazards
• preventing mine water from polluting drinking water, rivers or the sea
• providing information and reports to help homeowners, infrastructure providers and others make informed decisions

It shows how we will build on the innovation, applied research and action of the past few years to deliver further opportunity and value, and focuses on how we will work and continue to improve our service to our customers.

Our previous plan was written to last from 2018 to 2023, but the board decided to progress our new plan earlier for a number of reasons:

• the progress we have made against the previous plan
• the changing context that we all live and operate in
• the opportunity to align with the UK government’s Spending Review, which is planned to run from 2022 to 2025 inclusive

Read about our progress against our previous business plan and find out more in our annual reports and accounts for that period.

This new plan is set in the context of a 10 year vision, which has helped us to focus our thinking in the longer term – particularly in our response to the climate crisis and to support the net zero carbon ambitions of the 3 nations’ governments that we serve. Read more about our vision for 2032 .

The plan itself runs for 3 years from April 2022 until March 2025 – reflecting the current Spending Review period and also recognising the increased pace of change that we have all seen.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, for example, has both imposed and enabled change for individuals and families, in society and the workplace.

Working towards our 10 year vision in 3 or 4 year bites will allow us to adapt as needed to deliver the most we can for the communities we serve.

Our 2022 to 2025 plan is both ambitious and enabling. Ambitious in aspiration and practical delivery of core work, and innovative and enabling by ensuring that while delivering we also put in place frameworks, research and development that will allow us to understand the complex challenges and opportunities we face more clearly.

This will allow us to put in place the steps necessary to allow us to accelerate towards the ambitions in our 10 year vision over the course of the next 2 business plan periods that take us to 2032.

This will include the more complex aspects of our net zero and sustainability commitments, partnering with public organisations and private sector companies to accelerate the uptake of mine water heating and maximising the benefit from our information, records and archives.

None of what we aim to achieve would be possible without the dedication, commitment and passion of the people of the Coal Authority who work with our customers and partners 24/7 as needed to help protect life, drinking water and the environment from the challenges of Great Britain’s mining legacy.

It is their commitment to improving and innovating that has helped us to be efficient, to deliver creative and bespoke solutions to complex problems caused by coal mining hazards and to develop new opportunities from historic mining assets and wastes. You can see more in our colleague case studies .

In the course of this plan – and certainly looking towards our 10 year vision – we will use our collective expertise, passion and learning culture to become even more effective and to deliver more outcomes for the communities we serve here in Great Britain and potentially beyond.

We know that we can only achieve our mission of making a better future for people and the environment in mining areas by continuing to listen and learn.

We invite you to help, to hold us to account and to challenge where you think we can do better.

Jeff Halliwell, chair, and Lisa Pinney MBE, chief executive

3. our mission, purpose and values.

Our mission, purpose and values were developed with our colleagues and input from partners and adopted by the board in April 2019.

These were revisited as part of our vision and business plan development and the board agreed that they remain relevant and at the heart of our work and approach.

3.1 Our mission

Making a better future for people and the environment in mining areas.

3.2 Our purpose

• we keep people safe and provide peace of mind
• we protect and enhance the environment
• we use our information and expertise to help people make informed decisions
• we create value and minimise cost to the taxpayer

3.3 Our values

• we act with integrity
• we are open and transparent
• we deliver on our commitments
• we promote a culture of mutual respect
• we recognise that our differences make us stronger
• we work with others to achieve our mission

Progressive

• we are open minded and innovative
• we recognise that the past can help us shape the future
• we listen and learn

4. Our vision for 2032

Our 10 year vision remains focused on our mission of making a better place for people and the environment in mining areas and our mission, purpose and values remain at the heart of what we do. Over this period we will need to continue to evolve and adapt, recognising that external factors and context (such as climate change, customer expectation and digital developments) will require this.

We are mindful of the continued ageing of the historical coal assets we manage, the increasing need for low carbon opportunities and innovation and that things we are currently unaware of that will undoubtedly appear, increase in relevance or change through the dynamic times ahead.

By 2032 we will have made real progress in reducing our carbon footprint and achieved our ambition of becoming net zero by 2030. We will be ready to go beyond that, maximising the use of socially sustainable renewables on our sites, increasing habitat and space for nature and reducing waste wherever possible.

We will have worked with others to make strides in understanding and acting on the impacts of climate change adaptation to continually better understand the impacts of extreme weather on ground stability, drainage, risk and potential impacts in mining areas. Clear research, evidence and understanding will help us to make any changes needed to our approaches and influence the funding required to implement them.

Mine water heat and energy storage will be a key part of heat network policy and implementation with a number of schemes operational – including at city level and as multi-functional schemes with other types of heat, which maximises low carbon, stable priced and levelling up benefits across the former coal mining communities of Great Britain.

We will work with a range of partners and seek innovative funding mechanisms to enable this growth. No iron solids will be landfilled – being used for a range of beneficial uses instead. The water from our mines will be used to support drinking water and industrial provision in water scarce catchments and we will be actively working with partners at a catchment level to consider coal mines as a core part of the catchment – with flood storage and water use amongst those considerations.

Our services will help people to make informed decisions, provide expertise and peace of mind. We may provide these globally, where relevant, and complementary to wider England, Scotland and Wales ambitions. As coal mining declines across the world we will be well placed to share knowledge, expertise and practical advice on how mining can be decommissioned safely, sustainably and by maximising low carbon opportunities for the future.

We will keep working with partners to use our expertise and skills to reduce the impacts of other types of mining and things beyond our direct remit, building on the work we have done with Welsh government on tip safety and with other UK government departments to reduce pollution from metal mines.

We will better connect people to their mining history through the provision of information and by making more available the records, pictures and heritage we hold as cost-effectively as possible. We recognise that the past shapes our 3 nations’ histories and we will work with mining museums and other partners to bring this alive and better tell the story from past to future. We will do this even when it is hard, acknowledging the mistakes of the past and using this learning to do better.

We will be a more diverse, representative and actively anti-racist organisation that also recognises the importance of levelling up, social mobility and the identities of the coal mining communities in which we have our roots.

Underpinning all this will be our people, systems and ways of working. We will embrace the opportunity of new technology and continued digital transformation to provide better, more accessible customer service, improved monitoring and operational delivery, make our information easier to connect and engage with and release efficiencies.

We will measure progress in social and environmental terms alongside financial aspects of reporting.

We will work with the UK government to recognise these ambitions, changes and the further evolution of our work through refreshed legislation, which is fit for the future. We will also seek a change to our name which better reflects the nature of our work and ensures we can keep recruiting talented people and are able to work effectively with environmental and innovative partners in the long term.

5. Progress against our previous business plan

We have delivered strongly against our previous business plan, which was published in March 2018 and covered the period 2018 to 2023.

We have regularly reviewed our plan as we delivered against it and whilst the ‘what’ we do has remained largely the same we have made more significant changes to ‘how’ we work. These are reflected in our mission, purpose and values, our first people plan Great Place To Work and our customer strategy . We have also continued to learn and reflect and adapt to a rapidly changing world.

You can find more information in our annual reports and accounts for that period.

6. Business plan 2022 to 2025 themes

6.1 deliver for the communities we serve.

We are a practical operational organisation, which delivers a number of core, statutory duties across Great Britain to help keep people, drinking water and the environment safe from the impacts of our mining legacy. This includes 24/7 incident response capacity.

We are committed to doing this in a customer and community focused way. We act with integrity, do what we say we will and listen and learn so that we can continually improve.

Working with and through other partners we can provide a joined up response and maximise the outcomes that can be delivered. This helps us to deliver on our mission to ‘make a better future for people and the environment in mining areas.’

We have made significant progress on this through our previous business plan.

Here is one example of this:

on 25 September 2021, a serious subsidence incident involving 8 flats was reported in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland

we worked closely with the local council to provide direct support to the residents evacuated from their properties

we continue to proactively engage with the local community to provide reassurance to keep them informed about the remediation works

The next 3 years

Since our creation in 1994, we have had a strong focus on technical expertise, professionalism and delivery to solve the more routine and complex problems we face in relation to our mining legacy.

Over the course of the previous business plan, we have strengthened our focus on customer and community engagement and listened to our customers and partners, so that we could prioritise action and development in the areas that make the biggest difference. This approach underpins our thinking for the next 3 years.

We recognise that people and communities have differing contexts and perspectives. When working with communities and residents through engagement, we will treat every case as unique and work with people to reach the best outcomes we can, using the legislation and public money guidance that we have to work within.

We will actively promote who we are and what we do in coalfield areas so that communities know when and how to contact us and be confident that we will provide timely information, expertise and support whenever it is needed.

To support this we will strengthen existing relationships with local partners and stakeholders and look to identify further joint working opportunities to deliver better outcomes.

We will use our estate and information effectively to enable regeneration and development for the benefit of communities. We will build on customer feedback to further improve our digital services, making our information more accessible and increasing the self-serve options we know our customers want.

We recognise that all customers are individuals and so our customer processes will consider individual circumstances and changing needs. We will seek feedback from residents, local partners and wider stakeholders on our services to help us to continually learn and improve.

Underpinning all this is our commitment to provide effective and empathetic incident and emergency response and to deliver our core work to protect life, drinking water and the environment.

How we will know we are succeeding

We will improve our frontline delivery services for our customers so that we deliver more outcomes and are easier to do business with.

By April 2025 we will:

• treat an additional 13 billion litres per year of mine water to prevent pollution of drinking water, rivers or the sea by 2025 – this is an increase of more than 10% on current volumes (128 billion litres a year).
• resolve 90% of subsidence hazards and claims within 12 months
• use our information, services and estate to enable 300,000 hectares of regeneration and safe development for local communities in the former coalfields
• achieve ServiceMark accreditation for our service standards from the Institute of Customer Service

This will be underpinned by work to:

• further modernise and professionalise our 24/7 incident and emergency response capabilities – this will include working to become a Category 2 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act
• deliver even more in partnership to ensure wider outcomes
• be more visible, so that customers and partners are more aware of our services and how we can help

More detailed plans underpin this theme. Read more about our customer standards and read more about our customer strategy .

6.2 Ensure sustainability

We are committed to becoming a more sustainable organisation, and want to use our work to help deliver positive change in the communities we support. This includes real consideration of environmental and social sustainability and factoring this thinking into our decision making and reporting.

To do this we will work with others, sharing learning and taking practical action to move towards our ambition to be a net zero organisation by 2030 as has been committed to by our board.

We will continue taking action to decarbonise our activities and maximise natural carbon sequestration at our sites. We will also take action to support nature recovery by managing our sites and estate in the best way possible and to take a circular approach to our work, minimising waste and the use of natural resources.

• we have installed solar panels at several of our sites and now generate approximately 1.4 GWh of renewable energy every year
• this saves £200,000 and 314 tonnes of carbon each year
• the learning we have taken will inform further renewable schemes in this business plan

Over the course of the previous business plan we have taken action to increase self-generation of renewables from our sites and consider environmental benefit through our management.

In the next 3 years we will increase the pace of change so that we can make clear, measurable progress towards decarbonisation, using our estate to help nature recovery, increase access to our sites and consider social benefit in our thinking and decision making.

We will minimise resource use, retain materials within the value chain and support local economies through our procurement practices.

The majority of this will be done through undertaking our core work more smartly and maximising multiple outcomes wherever possible.

We will take action to decarbonise by using less energy to carry out our operations, increasing on site generation of renewable energy and reducing emissions from construction by using lower impact materials and design.

We will also use this period to identify and quantify even more challenging areas – for example uncontrolled fugitive emissions from abandoned mines and indirect emissions generated from the small number of active mining licences.

We will take action while also using these 3 years in an enabling way – undertaking further research and development to support our net zero ambitions and benchmarking the habitats and biodiversity across our estate, to inform how our sites can be improved for nature and provide nature-based solutions.

We will learn more about the impacts of climate change on our mine assets and estate, so that we can develop and implement plans for cost-effective climate change risk management and adaptation, and be ready to respond to an increased number and/or higher impact incidents. We will work with communities, partners and fellow emergency response organisations to be even more prepared.

We will evolve our decision making and reporting to more clearly demonstrate our environmental, social and other impacts, challenges and benefits alongside financial aspects. We will take a transparent approach to show our progress and challenges.

We will make further clear progress on our journey to achieve net zero carbon by 2030 and to deliver wider environmental and social aspects of sustainability.

• reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our estate, operations and travel by 65% from our 2017 to 2018 baseline
• implement integrated reporting that uses evidence-based and measured targets to show our commitment and progress on our sustainability goals
• understand and recognise the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on our estate and operations with a clearly defined adaptation plan
• have a nature recovery plan and will demonstrate how our estate and operations are being optimised for nature’s recovery
• baseline nature quality and biodiversity assessments across our estate
• work collaboratively with our supply chain to maximise environmental, social and local economic benefit from procurement
• further plan and adapt for climate change impacts on our assets and to help inform communities, partners and other emergency responders

6.3 Work with others to create value

Value creation (financial, environmental and social) is key to our thinking and we are constantly looking for new innovations and efficiency to deliver better outcomes, new opportunities and/or savings for the taxpayer.

We are passionate about mining communities both on the coalfield and beyond and use our information, skills and expertise to give confidence to those who live and work in these areas.

We enable opportunity and benefit, where possible, from our mining legacy. For example mine water heat schemes can provide heat and hot water for homes and businesses.

We hold unique knowledge, assets and data, but recognise that we don’t have all the skills or direct influence needed to maximise the value we can generate.

Our experience over the past few years shows that working with both public and private sector partners on joint projects benefits both parties and can provide better and faster outcomes.

We will build on that model as we bring data, products and services to market and develop new initiatives, ensuring we are always customer-focused and easy to work with.

• we have worked with a number of partners to explore new options for ochre – an iron rich by-product from our mine water treatment schemes – to change it from a waste sent to landfill to a beneficial product
• a groundbreaking project with the Merseylink consortium involved treating soil heavily contaminated with arsenic at the Mersey Gateway toll bridge site in Cheshire
• as well as bringing sustainability benefits, by cutting carbon emissions and preventing landfill, it is estimated that safely reusing the waste material saved around £2 million
• this innovative collaboration has been recognised with 2 awards, best re-use of materials and best infrastructure project, at Environment Analyst’s Brownfield Awards 2020

Over the course of the previous business plan we have focused our broad innovation programme of ideas into a smaller number of purposeful projects. In the next 3 years we will work to make more of these a reality and to scale up successful projects we have already delivered.

We will continue to seek to deliver value beyond our remit by supporting the delivery of key government priorities across England, Scotland and Wales such as net zero carbon, levelling up, climate justice and equity for future generations.

Mine water heat is our most exciting opportunity, with the potential to provide stable priced, low carbon and Great British generated heat for homes, businesses, industry and agriculture. With the first English scheme online and at least one more scheme going ‘spade in the ground’ this year, we have seen significant media and political interest, and have a pipeline of potential projects.

To scale this up faster we will need to work with governments and with public and private sector partners. We will also develop and raise awareness of wider mine water opportunities including cooling and heat storage from other green energy sources such as wind power.

We will build on our understanding of the by-products that we create to open new markets and significantly reduce the need for any of the material that we produce to go to landfill.

We will expand the services we provide to other organisations by demonstrating the value and expertise we bring. We will consider how we could support wider government work overseas, as countries look to ‘power past coal’ and decommission their industry as part of their net zero carbon plans and COP26 commitments.

The property and development market is changing rapidly and the future for property transactions is increasingly digital, with lending and legal organisations requiring access to well-structured data rather than standard reports. We have established strong connections and partnerships in this sector, and working with partners we will continue to update our data and digitise it for use in new and improved ways so that we can be dynamic to the needs of our customers.

We will also continue to work with lending institutions, surveyors and solicitors about our work and role to ensure they are aware of what we do, so that we can continue to give confidence to all those involved with buying and selling homes, land and property in coalfield areas.

All of this will be underpinned by continued research and development (R&D) and working with universities and partner organisations, to better inform our work and enable us to make decisions underpinned with science and evidence, to give confidence to our clients and customers.

We will generate more value and deliver wider environmental and social benefit from our assets, services and work.

• influence and enable 4 large operational mine water heat schemes across Great Britain
• re-use or recycle 95% of the iron ochre and iron solids generated from our mine water treatment schemes to prevent disposal in landfill
• increase our service delivery to partners by 30% from our 2021 to 2022 baseline of £2.49 million a year
• assist the lending industry in making faster decisions for homebuyers on the coalfields
• support and encourage government policy in England, Scotland and Wales to facilitate heat networks and mine water heat in particular
• explore alternative funding and enabling options and/or pilots working with public and private sector organisations.
• engage with the property sector to support the housing market on the coalfields
• develop strong relationships with key lenders and work with partners to support the streamlining of conveyancing for the home and retail markets

More detailed plans that underpin this theme, our Mine Heat Opportunities Framework and By-products Opportunities Framework, are both due to be published in March 2024.

6.4 Create a great place to work

Great people are at the heart of what we do – we can only deliver the important work we do to keep people safe, protect the environment and maximise opportunity if we can attract, recruit and retain them.

To do that we have to be a truly ‘great place to work’ that attracts diverse talent across all parts of Great Britain and helps them to feel valued and respected with the opportunity to grow and develop.

We want to be an employer of choice that is vibrant, dynamic and modern and promotes an inclusive, wellbeing-centred culture underpinned by our values.

We have already made good progress on these ambitions. Our original Great Place To Work plan was developed and launched in 2018 with a 5 year action plan to create a sustainable, skilled and developed, more diverse and motivated workplace that better enabled us to deliver for the customers and communities that we serve.

Our first Great Place To Work plan has helped us to create a more people-focused environment with wellbeing, inclusion and our values at the heart of how we do our work.

Over the next 3 years we will build further on this, focusing our effort in 4 key areas:

Leadership and learning

• we will develop great managers and leaders, who can make holistic decisions and balance business and individual needs
• we will provide the tools, advice and expertise to support them, and learning and development for all to maintain technical skills and expertise and develop new skills for the future
• we will continue to work to transfer knowledge from those with first-hand experience of mining industries to other colleagues

Safety, wellbeing and inclusion

• we will continue to prioritise mental health and wellbeing alongside health and safety in all we do
• we want a culture where people feel safe, can belong and are able to bring their whole selves to work
• we encourage diversity of thought, robust and respectful disagreement and an environment where there is no such thing as a silly question
• we will encourage a learning culture, where we can learn from mistakes and do better
• when we feel valued and included we can better tackle the complex problems and opportunities that our mining legacy presents us with, and provide caring and confident customer service
• we will continue to work with partners and a wide range of organisations to support us in achieving this

Engagement and employee experience

• we will continue to listen and learn from our people, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to be heard – our staff engagement group, staff forums and networks are important in this
• we will run regular people surveys and pulse surveys to allow people to share their thoughts and feelings confidentially and enable us collectively to take action to improve
• we will engage regularly and enable staff across the organisation to share their work, celebrate success and learn from each other and from external speakers and organisations
• we will work within the public sector framework to provide the best and more holistic reward and recognition package that we can

Modern and dynamic ways of working

• we will review and evolve our hybrid working framework to maximise the benefits of flexibility and of recruiting from across Great Britain where possible, while maintaining effectiveness, fairness and efficiency
• we will be more dynamic in our recruitment, attracting applications from the widest and most diverse areas possible, and looking at different sources of talent, seeking opportunities to help level up and improve social mobility wherever we can
• we will keep working with and learning from partners across all sectors to share best practice, benchmark our approaches and learn together

We will be an employer of choice where our people feel they can belong. We will have an inclusive culture with a strong focus on wellbeing, learning and development. We take pride in delivering important work for the communities we serve and live our values.

• make demonstrable progress towards our workforce being more reflective of the diversity of the communities we serve across Great Britain
• support levelling up by taking action to improve social mobility and providing apprenticeships for individuals who live on the coalfield and have a family connection to mining
• achieve a 5 star rating in the British Safety Council 5 Star Health, Safety and Wellbeing Audit
• increase our employee survey engagement score by 10% against the 2019 benchmark of 67%
• provide targeted learning and development for managers and staff, reinforcing our mission, purpose and values and maintaining and developing our technical skills and expertise
• develop a recruitment and resourcing plan that supports our equality, diversity and inclusion plan and reflects the changing work environment and hybrid opportunities
• review and evolve our people policies and processes to ensure they are effective, empowering and inspire more than baseline compliance

More detailed plans that underpin this theme. Read more about our equality, diversity and inclusion plan and read more about our anti-racism plan .

6.5 Make us fit for the future

Our plan is ambitious and we need to enable it through effective and customer-focused systems and approaches, which support our priorities efficiently and well.

Our information, combined with our people’s deep understanding of the risks and opportunities that past mining presents, sits at the centre of everything we do.

We hold authoritative data on more than 170,000 mine entries along with surface and underground mine workings that sit beneath approximately 25% of all properties in Great Britain.

This data is updated daily from information fed in from our day to day work in mining areas. It underpins all our work and produces approximately 200,000 mining reports annually. This is crucial to our work and can support the work of our partners.

Through this period we will continue to update and modernise it for new purposes, and continue to update the supporting IT infrastructure that underpins it and other systems.

We have already begun to migrate our systems to a cloud platform to provide increased resilience and flexibility. We have taken learning from the COVID-19 pandemic and recognise that future systems need to make it easy for colleagues to deliver services and collaborate with each other, our supply chain and our partners whether in the field, at home or in the office.

All of our supporting teams play a critical role in enabling frontline delivery and incident response – whether they are warning and informing local communities; ensuring simple finance systems, that mean a family can be evacuated from a subsiding house at a weekend; or ensuring that we procure services effectively and manage our programmes in the most efficient way to make the most of every pound we spend.

Over the next 3 years we will make it easier for them to do their work in supporting the frontline communities we serve.

Over the next 3 years we will build on the progress made since 2018 by ensuring that we are fit for the future, focusing our effort in 4 key areas:

Better services for our customers

• we will engage with our customers in the innovation, design and development of our systems and services – working to understand their needs and improving the customer experience by using ‘digital by default’ systems that allow our services and information to be accessed at a time convenient to them
• all new transactional systems, services and processes will adopt the GOV.UK design, service and inclusivity standards and we will independently test and assure our services
• we will simplify and update our website based on feedback

Modernising our data and information

• we will continue to develop and update our data and information to meet the needs of our business and customers and ensure we follow the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) data principles
• our records management procedures will ensure all data and information has clear ownership and is regularly reviewed
• where possible we will make available online our historic data assets, including our plans and photographs, so that they may be re-used in support of new applications, innovation and education
• we will develop a longer term plan for our data to ensure that it remains relevant and able to be used by others to enable wider outcomes for businesses and communities

Collaborative tools for our people

• we will use technology and tools to create a flexible and collaborative modern working environment, promoting a ‘One Coal Authority’ approach and enabling our people to work smartly wherever they are located
• we will evolve hybrid working as we learn from it, adopting smarter working practices that allow colleagues to contribute and feel included wherever they are and reducing unnecessary travel – collaboration will also allow closer working with our partners and supply chain

Resilient systems and processes

• we will refresh our infrastructure with modern technology so our systems are accessible, efficient, resilient and future proof
• technology, system design and intelligent use of our information to drive decision making will support our sustainability and net zero carbon objectives
• our mining information systems will be simplified, updated and operating in the Cloud – ensuring that they are resilient, future proof and offer flexibility to support an increasingly complex organisation and the needs of our customers and partners
• we will continue to use commercial off the shelf, streamlined back office systems for our more regular applications
• where appropriate, over the next 3 years we will rationalise around the Microsoft 365 cloud platform to provide our people with a suite of joined up tools that promote efficient working and internal and external collaboration

We will develop modern, resilient systems and processes that are fit for the future, support our people and make it easier for our customers and partners to do business with us.

• update 100% of our strategic IT systems and run them in the cloud
• make our digital services and information more accessible, relevant and with increased self-serve options – 100% of services will be digital by default and 100% of our new transactional systems will follow GOV.UK service and design standards
• make demonstrable progress on implementing systems that allow simpler, improved collaboration within the organisation and with partners
• make demonstrable progress in improving our Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data self-assessment ratings
• develop and deliver further customer centric, efficient services with pace, building internal and external feedback into our work
• maintain and further develop effective governance, risk, records management and business planning processes, and more clearly embed our programme office approach into all projects to improve planning, delivery, benefits and efficiency
• learn from other organisations across the public, private and charity and voluntary sectors

A more detailed plan that underpin this theme, Our Data and Information Plan, is due to be published in June 2023.

7. Our people

Steve, mining consultant and information manager and Staff Engagement Group representative, shared with us what he thinks makes the Coal Authority a great place to work:

Having worked with the organisation for a long time, the one thing that hasn’t changed is that everyone is comfortable being open and honest about who we are. This enables excellent relationships with customers and colleagues and allows us to enjoy working in a truly inclusive environment.

Mathura, project manager in the environment projects delivery team and co-chair of our race equality network, shared with us what changes she has seen since she started working for us:

Since I joined, we now have a more inclusive workforce and many networks, which allow staff to share their thoughts in a safe space. Within our sustainable project delivery, it’s great to see us taking more steps towards our net zero carbon goals.

Julia, executive assistant to the community and emergency response director, shares how the Coal Authority is evolving:

I joined in June 2021, it is constantly changing and progressing. Even in the short time I have been here we have moved from working from home to hybrid, created a new directorate and formed the new business plan. It is never static.

Sean, web developer, shares his pride at being a member of the Coal Authority:

I remember the first all-staff call I attended, and being in awe of the work we undertake to protect local communities – I had a genuine sense of pride to be a part of an organisation that is making a real impact on people’s lives.

Alicia, from our project management office, shares what inspires her about the Coal Authority:

Lots of things, but I’d like to mention the more fun little things we fit in, like rounders, quizzes, step challenges, photo competitions and being part of the networks that bring people together from across the organisation that you might not otherwise talk to.

Darren, head of tips response, shared with us what he most wants to achieve out of his role:

To continue ensuring public safety relating to disused coal tips, and to educate others about the importance of this area.

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Internet data centers are fueling drive to old power source: Coal

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — A helicopter hovers over the Gee family farm, the noisy rattle echoing inside their home in this rural part of West Virginia. It’s holding surveyors who are eyeing space for yet another power line next to the property — a line that will take electricity generated from coal plants in the state to address a drain on power driven by the world’s internet hub in Northern Virginia 35 miles away.

There, massive data centers with computers processing nearly 70 percent of global digital traffic are gobbling up electricity at a rate officials overseeing the power grid say is unsustainable unless two things happen: Several hundred miles of new transmission lines must be built, slicing through neighborhoods and farms in Virginia and three neighboring states. And antiquated coal-powered electricity plants that had been scheduled to go offline will need to keep running to fuel the increasing need for more power, undermining clean energy goals.

“It’s not right,” said Mary Gee, whose property already abuts two power lines that serve as conduits for electricity flowing toward the biggest concentration of data centers — in Loudoun County, home to what’s known as Data Center Alley. “These power lines? They’re not for me and my family. I didn’t vote on this. And the data centers? That’s not in West Virginia. That’s a whole different state.”

The $5.2 billion effort has fueled a backlash against data centers through the region, prompting officials in Virginia to begin studying the deeper impacts of an industry they’ve long cultivated for the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue it brings to their communities.

Critics say it will force residents near the coal plants to continue living with toxic pollution, ironically to help a state — Virginia — that has fully embraced clean energy. And utility ratepayers in the affected areas will be forced to pay for the plan in the form of higher bills, those critics say.

But PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, says the plan is necessary to maintain grid reliability amid a wave of fossil fuel plant closures in recent years, prompted by the nation’s transition to cleaner power.

Transmission

line proposal

Expand lines along existing right of way

Rebuild lines along existing right of way

Expand lines along

existing right of way

Rebuild lines along

Transmission line proposal

New transmission line

First Energy

502 Junction Substation

PENNSYLVANIA

Fort Martin power station

power plant

Brandon Shores

Harrisonburg

Fredericksburg

Charlottesville

Longview power plant

Fort Martin

Expand along existing right of way

Rebuild along existing right of way

Build new line

Detail below

Harrison power plant

502 Junction

Power lines will be built across four states in a $5.2 billion effort that, relying on coal plants that were meant to be shuttered, is designed to keep the electric grid from failing amid spiking energy demands.

Harpers Ferry

transmission

Poolesville

Purcellville

High density of

data center

Int’l

Centreville

Gainesville

Cutting through farms and neighborhoods, the plan converges on Northern Virginia, where a growing data center industry will need enough extra energy to power 6 million homes by 2030.

With not enough of those green energy facilities connected to the grid yet, enough coal and natural gas energy to power 32 million homes is expected to be lost by 2030 at a time when the demand from the growing data center industry, electric vehicles and other new technology is on the rise, PJM says.

“The system is in a major transition right now, and it’s going to continue to evolve,” Ken Seiler, PJM’s senior vice president in charge of planning, said in a December stakeholders’ meeting about the effort to buy time for green energy to catch up. “And we’ll look for opportunities to do everything we can to keep the lights on as it goes through this transition.”

A need for power

Data centers that house thousands of computer servers and the cooling equipment needed for them to run have been multiplying in Northern Virginia since the late 1990s, spreading from the industry’s historic base in Loudoun County to neighboring Prince William County and, recently, across the Potomac River into Maryland. There are nearly 300 data centers now in Virginia.

With Amazon Web Services pursuing a $35 billion data center expansion in Virginia, rural portions of the state are the industry’s newest target for development.

The growth means big revenue for the localities that host the football-field-size buildings. Loudoun collects $600 million in annual taxes on the computer equipment inside the buildings, making it easier to fund schools and other services. Prince William, the second-largest market, collects $100 million per year.

But data centers also consume massive amounts of energy.

One data center can require 50 times the electricity of a typical office building, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Multiple-building data center complexes, which have become the norm, require as much as 14 to 20 times that amount.

The demand has strained utility companies, to the point where Dominion Energy in Virginia briefly warned in 2022 that it may not be able to keep up with the pace of the industry’s growth.

The utility — which has since accelerated plans for new power lines and substations to boost its electrical output — predicts that by 2035 the industry in Virginia will require 11,000 megawatts, nearly quadruple what it needed in 2022, or enough to power 8.8 million homes.

The smaller Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative recently told PJM that the more than 50 data centers it serves account for 59 percent of its energy demand. It expects to need to serve about 110 more data centers by July 2028.

Meanwhile, the amount of energy available is not growing quickly enough to meet that future demand. Coal plants have scaled down production or shut down altogether as the market transitions to green energy, hastened by laws in Maryland and Virginia mandating net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and, for several other states in the region, by 2050.

Dominion is developing a 2,600-megawatt wind farm off Virginia Beach — the largest such project in U.S. waters — and the company recently gained state approval to build four solar projects.

But those projects won’t be ready in time to absorb the projected gap in available energy. Opponents of PJM’s plan say it wouldn’t be necessary if more green energy had been connected to the grid faster, pointing to projects that were caught up in bureaucratic delays for five years or longer before they were connected.

A PJM spokesperson said the organization has recently sped up its approval process and is encouraging utility companies and federal and state officials to better incorporate renewable energy.

About 40,000 megawatts of green energy projects have been cleared for construction but are not being built because of issues related to financing or siting, the PJM spokesperson said.

Once more renewable energy is available, some of the power lines being built to address the energy gap may no longer be needed as the coal plants ultimately shut down, clean energy advocates say — though utility companies contend the extra capacity brought by the lines will always be useful.

“Their planning is just about maintaining the status quo,” Tom Rutigliano, a senior advocate for clean energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said about PJM. “They do nothing proactive about really trying to get a handle on the future and get ready for it.”

‘Holding on tight’ to coal

The smoke from two coal plants near West Virginia’s border with Pennsylvania billows over the city of Morgantown, adding a brownish tint to the air.

Nearby sits the 502 Junction substation, connected to those plants and a third one about 43 miles away via existing power lines, which will serve as a terminus for a western prong of the PJM plan for new lines that will extend to another substation in Frederick, Md., then south into Northern Virginia.

The owner of one of the Morgantown-area plants, Longview LLC, recently emerged from bankruptcy. After a restructuring, the facility is fully functioning, utilizing a solar farm to supplement its coal energy output.

The other two plants belong to the Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. utility, which had plans to significantly scale down operations there to meet a company goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a third over the next six years.

The FirstEnergy plants are among the state’s worst polluters, said Jim Kotcon, a West Virginia University plant pathology professor who oversees conservation efforts at the Sierra Club’s West Virginia chapter.

The Harrison plant pumped out a combined 12 million tons of coal pollutants like sulfur and nitrous oxides in 2023, more than any other fossil fuel plant in the state, according to Environmental Protection Agency data. The Fort Martin plant, which has been operating since the late 1960s, emitted the state’s highest levels of nitrous oxides in 2023, at 5,240 tons.

After PJM tapped the company to build a 36-mile-long portion of the planned power lines for $392 million, FirstEnergy announced in February that the company is abandoning a 2030 goal to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions because the two plants are crucial to maintaining grid reliability.

The news has sent FirstEnergy’s stock price up by 4 percent, to about $37 a share this week, and was greeted with jubilation by West Virginia’s coal industry.

“We welcome this, without question, because it will increase the life of these plants and hundreds of thousands of mining jobs,” said Chris Hamilton, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. “We’re holding on tight to our coal plants.”

Since 2008, annual coal production in West Virginia has dipped by nearly half, to about 82 million tons, though the industry — which contributes about $5.5 billion to the state’s economy — has rebounded some due to an export market to Europe and Asia, Hamilton said.

Hamilton said his association will lobby hard for FirstEnergy’s portion of the PJM plan to gain state approval. The company said it will submit its application for its power line routes in mid-2025.

More than 200 miles to the east in Maryland, environmental groups and ratepayer advocates are fighting an effort by PJM to extend the life of two more coal plants — Brandon Shores and Herbert A. Wagner — just outside of Baltimore, which were slated to close by June 2025.

PJM asked the plants’ owner, Texas-based Talen Energy Corp., to keep them running through 2028 — with the yet-to-be determined cost of doing so passed on to ratepayers.

That would mean amending a 2018 federal court consent decree, in which Talen agreed to stop burning coal to settle a lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club over Clean Water Act violations. The Sierra Club has rejected PJM’s calls to do so.

“We need a proactive plan that is consistent with the state’s clean energy goals,” said Josh Tulkin, director of the Sierra Club’s Maryland chapter, which has proposed an alternative plan to build a battery storage facility at the Brandon Shores site that would cut the time needed for the plants to operate.

A PJM spokesperson said the organization believes that such a facility wouldn’t provide enough reliable power and is not ruling out seeking a federal emergency order to keep the coal plants running.

With the matter still unresolved, nearby residents say they are anxious to see them closed.

“It’s been really challenging,” said John Garofolo, who lives in the Stoney Beach neighborhood community of townhouses and condominiums, where coal dust drifts into the neighborhood pool when the facilities are running. “We’re concerned about the air we’re breathing here.”

Sounding alarms

Keryn Newman, a Charles Town activist, has been sounding alarms in the small neighborhoods and farm communities along the path of the proposed power lines in West Virginia.

Newman, who in the late 2000s waged a successful campaign to stop a plan for a 765-kilovolt line extending through the area into Maryland before the data center boom, sees the battle in terms of the more affordable, quieter lifestyle she and her neighbors cherish.

Because FirstEnergy prohibits any structure from interfering with a power line, building a new line along the right of way — which would be expanded to make room for the third line — would mean altering the character of residents’ properties, Newman said.

“It gobbles up space for play equipment for your kid, a pool or a barn,” she said. “And a well or septic system can’t be in the right of way.”

A FirstEnergy spokesperson said the company would compensate property owners for any land needed, with eminent domain proceedings a last resort if those property owners are unwilling to sell.

Some have accepted that more power lines will come through and seem open to selling to FirstEnergy and moving away.

Pam and Gary Gearhart fought alongside Newman against the defeated 765-kilovolt line, which would have forced them to move a septic system near FirstEnergy’s easement. But when Newman showed up recently to their Harpers Ferry-area neighborhood to discuss the new PJM plan, the couple appeared unwilling to fight again.

Next door, another family had already decided to leave, the couple said, and was in the midst of loading furniture into a truck when Newman showed up.

“They’re just going to keep okaying data centers; there’s money in those things,” Pam Gearhart said about local governments in Virginia benefiting from the tax revenue. “Until they run out of land down there.”

In Loudoun County, where the data center industry’s encroachment into neighborhoods has fostered resentment, community groups are fighting a portion of the PJM plan that would build power lines through the mostly rural communities of western Loudoun.

The lines would damage the views offered by surrounding wineries and farms that contribute to Loudoun’s $4 billion tourism industry, those groups say.

Bill Hatch owns a winery that sits near the path of where PJM suggested one high-voltage line could go, though that route is still under review.

“This is going to be a scar for a long time,” Hatch said.

Reconsidering the benefits

Amid the backlash, local and state officials are reconsidering the data center industry’s benefits.

The Virginia General Assembly has launched a study that, among other things, will look at how the industry’s growth may affect energy resources and utility rates for state residents.

But that study has held up efforts to regulate the industry sooner, frustrating activists.

“We should not be subsidizing this industry for another minute, let alone another year,” Julie Bolthouse, director of land use at the Piedmont Environmental Council, chided a Senate committee that voted in February to table a bill that would force data center companies to pay more for new transmission lines.

Loudoun is moving to restrict where in the county data centers can be built. Up until recently, data centers have been allowed to be built without special approvals wherever office buildings are allowed.

“They’re great neighbors, great taxes, all that sort of thing,” Phyllis Randall (D), chair of the county board, said about the industry before a February vote to set that plan in motion. “But somehow, someway, it started to get away from us.”

But such action will do little to stem the worries of people like Mary and Richard Gee.

As it is, the two lines near their property produce an electromagnetic field strong enough to charge a garden fence with a light current of electricity, the couple said. When helicopters show up to survey the land for a third line, the family’s dog, Peaches, who is prone to seizures, goes into a barking frenzy.

An artist who focuses on natural landscapes, Mary Gee planned to convert the barn that sits in the shadow of a power line tower to a studio. That now seems unlikely, she said.

Lately, her paintings have reflected her frustration. One picture shows birds with beaks wrapped shut by transmission line. Another has a colorful scene of the rural Charles Town area severed by a smoky black and gray landscape of steel towers and a coal plant.

“It feels like harassment,” Gee said. “But there’s no one we can call for help.”

A previous version of this article incorrectly reported that Prince William County receives $400 million annually in taxes on the computer equipment inside data centers. It receives $100 million annually. In addition, the article incorrectly stated that two FirstEnergy plants in West Virginia have been equipped with carbon-capturing technology. They do not have such technology in place, The article has been corrected.

About this story

Map sources: Proposed transmission line data provided by Piedmont Environmental Council based on information made available by PJM . The transmission line plan depicts general paths selected by PJM; the final routes will be determined by the utility companies. Existing transmission lines via the EIA U.S. Energy Atlas . Data center locations in Virginia provided by the Data Center Map . Other cartographic data via U.S. Geological Survey and OpenStreetMap.

Story editing by Jennifer Barrios . Copy editing by Thomas Heleba and Shay Quillen. Design and development by Carson TerBush . Design editing by Christian Font and Betty Chavarria . Photo editing by Mark Miller . Visual editing by Tara McCarty . Maps by Laris Karklis . Graphics editing by Kate Rabinowitz .

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Jeff bezos moved to fla. and invested $60m into lab-grown meat — then ron desantis banned it.

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New Florida residents Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sanchez announced a $60 million initial investment into sustainable protein, including “cultivated meats” — just before Gov. Ron DeSantis barred the sale of lab-grown meat in the Sunshine State.

DeSantis signed the legislation, called SB 1084, into effect on May 1, casting it as a bid to stop the World Economic Forum’s goal of forcing the world to eat lab-grown meat and insects, “an overlooked source of protein,” according to a news release.

Rather, “Florida is increasing meat production, and encouraging residents to continue to consume and enjoy 100% real Florida beef,” the governor’s office added.

DeSantis previously has blasted “the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals.”

The move comes about a month after the Bezos Earth Fund, chaired by the Amazon founder and Sanchez, announced a hefty investment into sustainable protein including plant-based, fermented, and cultivated meats — part of the organization’s larger, $1 billion commitment to expanding food production, Fortune earlier reported.

“We need to feed 10 billion people with healthy, sustainable food throughout this century while protecting our planet. We can do it, and it will require a ton of innovation,” Sanchez wrote in a statement announcing the $60 million investment.

Lab-grown meats differ from its slaughter-free counterparts like Impossible Foods in that they are grown from real animal cells that are replicated scientifically, eliminating the need to farm animals.

Impossible burgers and other vegan proteins such as Beyond Meat, meanwhile, are made using alternative protein sources like tempeh, tofu, seitan and beans, among other products.

According to science magazine Scientific American , the US Department of Agriculture granted its first-ever approval of cell-cultured meat produced by two companies, GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods, last June — less than a year after the Food and Drug Administration declared the companies’ products safe to eat.

Florida, for reference, ranks 13th in the US in overall cattle numbers with a total herd size of 886,000 among 15,000 beef producers with total sales of $546 million, according to Fortune, citing the Florida Beef Council.

Before garnering US approval, GOOD Meat had already been selling its cultivated chicken in Singapore. It made its debut in America in a dish curated by well-known chef José Andrés at his Washington, DC, restaurant, China Chilcano.

The nonprofit Good Food Institute reports that the cultivated meat industry has grown to include more than 150 companies backed by $2.6 billion in investments, Fortune cited — with Bezos among those funding the sector.

Bezos and DeSantis’s clashing opinions on the lab-grown meat industry are coming to light shortly after the 60-year-old tech billionaire moved from Seattle, near Amazon’s headquarters, to Miami, closer to his space exploration firm Blue Origin’s home base.

In October 2023, it was revealed that Bezos had purchased two mansions on Florida’s exclusive “Billionaire Bunker,” the man-made island formally known as Indian Creek Island.

Last month, he added a third multimillion-dollar estate to his sprawling Miami portfolio in an off-market transaction reportedly worth $90 million.

Sources privy to the matter revealed to The Post that Bezos intends to take up residence in this new acquisition while orchestrating the demolition of his two previous island properties — which includes a $79 million abode, and its neighboring $68 million property.

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