SMM daily comment on imported iron ore market (Aug 17)

[SMM Weekly Maintenance Statistics] According to SMM statistics, this week (August 15 to August 21), the impact on hot metal volume caused by blast furnace maintenance was.....

North Macedonia’s state-owned power producer ESM has signed a three-year coal supply agreement with Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK), allowing ESM to obtain approximately 3 million tonnes of coal from Kosovo’s Obilić mining area over 36 months. The price is fixed at €24.4 per tonne, with the coal intended for the Bitola and Oslomej thermal power plants. ESM estimates that it requires approximately 1.4 million tonnes of externally sourced coal annually to supplement domestic production. However, capacity at the Blace border crossing currently limits deliveries from Kosovo to around 800,000 tonnes per year. Unless transport capacity increases, actual deliveries could total approximately 2.4 million tonnes over three years, below the 3 million tonnes covered by the agreement. The coal has an average calorific value of approximately 1,950 kcal/kg. ESM said it has low sulphur and ash content and is expected to improve power-plant efficiency, support around 800 GWh of additional annual electricity generation and generate approximately €57 million in revenue while reducing fuel-oil consumption and carbon emissions. These remain company projections. ESM plans to launch a tender by the end of August to select an operator responsible for extracting, testing, loading and transporting the coal. The agreement will formally enter into force after the operator-selection procedure is completed.

Bangladesh plans to include domestic coal development in an upcoming 10-year energy master plan and is considering open-pit extraction at the Phulbari coal mine. Sources at Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited said the deposit contains approximately 572 million tonnes of coal, of which around 472 million tonnes may be recoverable, with potential annual production of 15 million tonnes. Excluding the Barapukuria power plant, Bangladesh’s other six coal-fired power plants require at least 20 million tonnes of imported coal annually. If Phulbari reaches its proposed production capacity, it could theoretically replace approximately 75% of current power-sector coal imports while reducing foreign-exchange expenditure and pressure on gas-fired generation. However, the project still requires a final government decision and is expected to take around five years to reach full production after the necessary preparations are completed.