The Sightline Institute reports that struggling Arch Coal has divested itself of its share in the Millennium Bulk terminals coal project sited at Longview, WA, signaling just how hard the fall has been for both Big Coal and its once strong drive to establish numerous coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest.
Read the Sightline story.
Learn why Friends opposes coal export through the Columbia Gorge.
The takeaway from Arch's move: The company has spent around $60 million on the project to date. In essence, what Arch gets for abandoning this investment and its 38 percent share of the terminal is: the right not to spend more money (referred to in the statement as “Arch’s sharp focus on capital conservation”) and an option to ship coal that is essentially worthless.
Thus, the sole owner of Millennium is now Lighthouse Resources (formerly Ambre Energy North America). Lighthouse is owned by a Cayman Islands-based hedge fund, Resource Capital Funds.
