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A SUBSIDIARY of Sultan Mining and Energy Development
Corp. has inked a supply deal with Switzerland’s Glencore
International AG, one the world’s largest suppliers of commodities
and raw materials.
Documents from the Department of
Energy showed that MG Mining and Energy Corp., which operates a coal
mine in Bislig, Surigao del Sur, has entered into an agreement to
supply Glencore with 90,000 metric tons (MTs) of steam coal to be
shipped between August and December this year.
Steam coal or bituminous coal has
the broadest range of commercial uses among the different types of
the commodity and has long been used for steam generation in
electric power plants and industrial boiler plants.
Rufino Bomasang, Sultan vice
chairman, said that aside from Glencore, several prospective foreign
buyers have also expressed interest in buying its Bislig coal,
adding the company is keen on pursuing these proposals.
He said there is a shortage of
coal in the world market due to the growth in the power generation
industries in the red-hot economies of China and India. As a result,
the company is benefiting from higher purchase prices from foreign
buyers than what its local customers pay.
Sultan supplies coal to local
cement makers and power generation companies as well as some
canneries that have shifted from bunker fuel to the cheaper fossil
fuel for their boilers.
The company’s Bislig mine has
an output of 20,000 MTs a month despite adverse weather conditions.
It plans to develop its reserves in Argao as part of its efforts to
ramp up production.
--Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
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