Glencore to Shut West Wallsend Mine Next Year

Mineweb reported that Glencore Plc (LSE:GLEN) has decided to close its West Wallsend underground coal mine in Australia in 2016, citing poor coal prices as the reason behind the decision.

As quoted in the market news,

The West Wallsend mine, co-owned by Japan’s Marubeni Corp and JFE Minerals, produced 2.6 million tonnes of mostly thermal coal last year, and had been slated to close in late 2016 or 2017, a spokesman said.

Development work will end in June this year, with all mining now set to end in mid-2016.

The company stated:

Consideration had been given to a number of options to extend the mine’s life but a combination of factors, especially coal market and economic conditions, do not support continued operations.

Click here for the full Mineweb report