Tide turning for coal says Bowen Coking Coal leader

The outspoken executive chair of Bowen Coking Coal, Nick Jorss, says the tide is turning against the naysayers and coal will continue to be a force in coming decades. Mr Jorss was in the vanguard of opposition against the increases in coal royalties effective July 1, 2022. Bowen Coking Coal posted a loss that financial year, Mr Jorss said. “It's definitely a difficult pill to swallow when you are losing money and you're paying vast swathes of it to the state,” he said. “ ... We've invested over $400 million of our shareholders' and financers' money, including our own, into these mines and pretty much the first hundred million dollars will go to the state, to State Government, before we make a first profit. “So that's not encouraging of new business and new mines. I think you're seeing volumes are down for the last couple of years. A couple of mines have shut. "We shut Bluff, Stanmore shut Mavis, and I suspect you'll see more of that over time. Related: Shock at Mavis coal operation closure Bowen Coking Coal executive chair Nick Jorss “You're not seeing new mines starting. Mines changing hands at big multiples is one thing, but there are no new jobs in that.” The company has made a turnaround with operational priorities and is on track with guidance. Mr Jorss presented at the Noosa Mining Investor Conference this week and said there were good reasons to be bullish about the coal industry. “I think the biggest myth is that coal is a dying industry and it's propagated every year and every year we see record coal volume," he said. “So you've got India and China going nuts in terms of demand and the fact that in Queensland and in Australia we seem to be positioning ourselves to this as some sort of sunset industry and transitioning out of it is just crazy because you're going to see continued demand. “The forecasts for met coal are anywhere between 30 and 60 per cent growth by 2050 and that's for the steel industry and that's got to be serviced out of the met coal industry. Now, we saw today Fortescue’s green hydrogen plans up in smoke. “There's no economic green steel. It's not happening outside of niche little areas for people who want to pay a lot of money for steel. “So I'm very confident in the outlook for met coal and, frankly, for thermal as we try to keep our electricity bills down and keep the lights on.” Image at top of page: First ROM coal from Bowen Coking Coal's Ellensfield South pit You may also like: https://industryqld.com.au/quiet-queensland-coal-keeps-on-keeping-on/

Tide turning for coal says Bowen Coking Coal leader

Industry Queensland

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