Compass Minerals announced expanded plans to upgrade its salt mining operations in Goderich, Ontario, which will improve its operating processes and increase its annual production capacity to approximately nine million tons by 2012. The upgrade will position the company to efficiently increase production of highway deicing salt as demand requires.
“While the demand for highway deicing [...]

Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. announced today that it has filed an acquisition shelf registration statement on Form S-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (”SEC”) and plans to file a universal shelf registration statement on Form S-3 in the near future. These filings will replace the Company’s existing shelf registration statements on Forms S-4 [...]

Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. announced that 4,520 shares of Hornbeck Offshore common stock owned by its Chief Operating Officer, Carl G. Annessa, were recently sold pursuant to an involuntary margin call affected by Mr. Annessa’s broker. Following the sale, Mr. Annessa still beneficially owns or has rights to approximately 235,000 shares of Company stock, including [...]

Oxbow Carbon & Minerals Holdings, Inc. (Oxbow) announced that it has informed the Board of Trustees of Great Lakes Carbon Income Fund (the Fund) (TSX:GLC.UN - News) that it has modified its offer to purchase all assets of the Fund to increase the effective cash price per unit of the Fund from C$13.00 to C$13.50. [...]

A Canadian company has shut down its 35-year-old coal mine in Washington state, throwing 600 people out of work, but plans to keep a major generating plant running with coal from Wyoming.
TransAlta Corp. has signed long-term contracts with Rio Tinto Energy America and Peabody Energy for coal with less sulfur and mercury from the [...]

Prospects are excellent for North Dakota to take advantage of new, commercial coal gasification technology they saw operating in Europe, according to North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem after returning from a trip to Europe on a fact finding visit.
“We saw advanced coal gasification plants with a strong track record [...]