As American Coal Exports Skyrocket, Chinese Companies Look To Buy Up Appalachia

Much of the financial infrastructure for companies operating Appalachian surface mines may soon be in China, along with an increasing amount of Appalachian coal.

On May 7, Guizhou Guochuang Energy Holding Group said it had raised 3.9 billion yuan in a private placement to be used mainly to acquire and develop Triple H Coal Company, making it the first Chinese company to invest in coal in America…

I want to put this into a context for other Tennesseans. The United States exports ten times as much coal as we mine every year in Tennessee. We don’t need to continue mining mountaintops in our state to provide infrastructure, jobs, or electricity. What’s more, Tennessee congregations, citizens, and campuses are working together to make Tennessee the first state to ban mountaintop removal by passing the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act in the state legislature. The bill would ban surface mines on virgin ridges above 2000 feet in the state.

Meanwhile, Triple H Coal – the company which looks to be in Chinese hands soon – is the only remaining Tennessee-owned company with active surface mining permits above 2,000 feet. In other words, assuming the deal to buy out Triple H is finalized, if Tennessee politicians talk about opposing the scenic vistas bill, they are talking about protecting companies that are leaving their pollution in Tennessee, but are sending most of the benefits (both mineral and financial) either out of state, or out of the country.

Tennessee coal makes up less than 1% of TVA’s coal purchases. Most coal from the Volunteer State is shipped by rail to South Carolina and Georgia. Unfortunately for Appalachian citizens, in the near future much of the financial infrastructure associated with nearby coal operations may no longer be locally invested either. It certainly doesn’t sound like these Chinese investors plan to stop with Triple H either…