Australia offers joint venture for development of Thar Coal

[A.Rafay]

ISLAMABAD - Australia offered Pakistan a joint venture for the development of Thar coal to exploit its energy potential that would help the country overcome its energy crisis.
“We can collectively exploit the gift of Thar Coal,” the Ambassador of Australia to Pakistan Peter Heyward said on Tuesday, in a meeting with the delegation of Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI).
Delegation members included President IWCCI Farida Rashid, Adviser IWCCI Malik Sohail, Naima Ansari and other officer bearers.
The ambassador said that major Australian mining and oil and gas companies were keenly watching developments in Pakistan, which would help them plan stepping in this promising market.
The Australian ambassador said that his country was also interested in exploiting Pakistan’s matchless potential in human and natural resource.
Heyward said that Australia could gain access to energy rich central Asia and Gulf states by using Pakistan as an economic bridge and noted that both countries could further strengthen bonds in education and agriculture sectors.
Pakistan fulfilled every criterion to become a developed nation soon, he said, adding that no county could afford to stop women from taking part in the development of the economy.
Underlining the importance of linkages, Heyward said that Pakistani and Australian businesswomen associations would be linked, while his country would offer training, education, networking, information sharing and exchange opportunities to Pakistani women.
According to an IWCCI press statement, the wife of the ambassador, Ms Suzzane Heyward said that she would try her best to infuse confidence in business women through encouragement and capacity building measures.
She offered her residence for exhibitions, where wives of all ambassadors would be invited, which would help local women entrepreneurs find business and networking opportunities.
On the occasion, Samina Fazil said that women in Pakistan were a strong segment of the society. She highlighted the importance of liberal and deregulated trade regime in Pakistan, which offered enormous opportunities for foreign investors.
President IWCCI Farida Rashid said that the economies of Pakistan and Australia were compatible, which was a prerequisite for enhanced bilateral cooperation. “We have a great consumer market and a competent workforce which is fourth largest in the world,” Farida said.
Adviser IWCCI Malik Sohail also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the potential of the Pakistani market for international investors.

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[niaz]

Lignite deposits in Australia are in the Victoria state and at nearly 4900 billion tons almost one third of all the worlds’ lignite. However only about 40-billion tons is considered to be economically mineable.

Currently about 70-million tons of lignite or brown is being extracted annually using open pit mining. It is dried and burnt for power generation and/ or pressed into briquettes (small blocks) for use as burning coal.

Australian lignite is low in ash and sulphur but has very high moisture content (about 50%). An Australian company called Ignite Energy Resources (IER) have developed a process to convert the lignite into coking coal and low sulphur petroleum substitute. Another process developed by IER converts lignite into granulated fertilizer mainly using similar technology as is used to produce fertilizers from natural gas. I have also come across a report by G& S Resources where feasibility of converting lignite into pyrolysis oil has been studied.

In short Australia has a long established brown coal mining industry. Pakistani lignite is similar in quality but with slightly less moisture (about 49%) and it is sincerely hoped that with Australian help, Thar coal will finally yield some of its potential benefits to the country.