GLG News by Gypsum Wallboard Experts

    Coal companies such as Peabody, Consol, and Jim Walters have recently agreed to a new five-year contract with the United Mine Workers Association (UMWA). The economics are provided below in order to help in modeling costs and revenues at UMWA-represented coal mines.

    The Air Force’s actual tests of jet fuel from coal-to-liquids and gas-to-liquids in B-52 Bomber appears to be successful. The barrier to large scale commercial application of converting the United States’ vast coal reserves to liquid fuels continues to be the high cost of the...

    The article points out some of the pressures on coal producers. Not mentioned in the article is the new UMWA Contract that was recently approved by Consol, Peabody, and other mining companies that will place additional pressures. The Analysis Section lists the salient points...

    The Surface Transportation Board (STB) decision on January 25 that fuel surcharges in transportation agreements must more accurately reflect the actual cost of the movement and not be a “double-dip” is potentially good news for the beleaguered Powder River Basin (PRB) coal producers....

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) ruled on January 25, 2007 that fuel surcharges in transportation agreements must more nearly reflect the actual cost of the movement and not be a “double-dip”. This decision will impact the Class I Railroads’ coal transportation revenues for those coal transportation...

The article correctly points out that the BNSF has had record earnings for the fourth quarter 2006, and full-year 2006. The BNSF’s coal transportation business out of the Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming and Montana was a major contributor in this solid fourth quarter 2006 and full-year results....

    The United States has more Btu-equivalent coal in the Illinois Basin alone than the combined oil of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. The U.S. coal reserves are very attractive for coal-to-liquid (CTL) conversion. Yet, because of the high initial capital investment and potential...

Elk happens to be in the position of being desired by two different companies.  One they planned for, and the other they did not.  One road leads to survival and a continuation of the brand, the other, well, probably not!

Articles on Nardelli being paid too much or not shareholder friendly abound.  This article goes further into the direction of Home Depot and the General Electric way of doing things.  Changing a cowboy culture and cutting costs were seen by Nardelli as the right thing. ...

    The UMWA on Friday, December 15 tentatively agreed to a new agreement with Consol’s UMWA mines. This was a much-watched negotiation because of its impact on coal supply and cost. The analysis section below describes what is known of the agreement