Iron ore inventory at 35 Chinese ports piled up 

South Africa’s Sasol plans to increase investment in its own coal mines to secure feedstock for its Secunda Operations while reducing coal purchases from third-party suppliers. The company produced 28.4 million tons of coal from its own mines in FY2026 and expects this to increase to between 30 million and 32 million tons in FY2027, before rising further to 34 million tons by 2028. Meanwhile, Sasol expects its external coal purchases to decline from 8.8 million tons in FY2026 to between 5 million and 7 million tons in FY2027. This represents a reduction of between 1.8 million and 3.8 million tons, or approximately 20.5% to 43.2%. The change primarily reflects Sasol’s substitution of externally purchased coal with own-mine production and does not indicate an equivalent decline in its overall coal requirements. The company said that increasing the share of own-mine coal would help maintain consistent coal quality, secure feedstock supplies and improve cost competitiveness. Sasol invested R1 billion to convert the Twistdraai export-coal washing plant into a destoning facility. The facility is now delivering processed coal with sinks below 12%. Improved coal quality, higher gasifier availability and the absence of a shutdown in FY2026 collectively supported an increase in annual output at Secunda Operations to a five-year high of 7.2 million tons. With a scheduled shutdown planned for FY2027, the company expects the facility to produce between 7.2 million and 7.4 million tons during the year. Mining capital expenditure increased from R2.9 billion in FY2024 to R4.1 billion in FY2026 and is expected to rise by a further R1 billion to R1.5 billion in FY2027, including investment in a shaft-replacement project. In addition, Sasol is assessing the production of methane-rich gas from coal as a bridge supply for industrial customers that could face a gas supply shortage from 2028 onward. However, the project still requires greater long-term pricing certainty and further regulatory assessment, and the company has not yet made a final investment decision.

Indian integrated logistics and engineering services company Sical Logistics has secured a five-year mining contract worth approximately ₹5.3473 billion from Central Coalfields Limited for heavy earth-moving and mining operations at the SDOC Mine in Bokaro district, Jharkhand. The contract covers the re-handling of approximately 20.14 million cubic metres of overburden, the removal of around 33.65 million cubic metres of hard overburden, and the extraction of approximately 9.104 million tonnes of coal from a 143-hectare working area. The contract value includes an 18% goods and services tax, while the execution period is 1,825 days. A simple five-year average would place the contracted coal volume at approximately 1.82 million tonnes per year.

Восточная угольная компания (ECL) 31 августа сообщила, что начала превентивные меры по изоляции на шахте Кхандра в угольном бассейне Ранигандж. Поверхностные трещины и проседание грунта впервые были замечены возле храма Никантх 28 июля. В ECL заявили, что несанкционированные постройки и незаконные жители в пострадавшем районе ограничивали работы по заполнению поверхности. Поскольку трещины не удалось должным образом заполнить, наружный воздух мог проникать в подземные выработки, усиливая самопроизвольное нагревание остаточного угля и дополнительно повышая риск самовозгорания. Поэтому ECL начала изоляционные меры для защиты работников и прилегающих территорий и продолжит мониторинг состояния на объекте. Существующие работники будут переведены на другие участки той же шахты или соседние шахты в соответствии с производственными потребностями. Изоляционные меры не нарушат существующее водо- и электроснабжение жилых кварталов. ECL не определила, как долго сохранится изоляция, и отвергла сообщения о том, что шахта может быть изолирована на три месяца. Окончательная продолжительность будет определена на основе экспертных рекомендаций, технических оценок и установленных требований безопасности на шахтах.