Global Coal Management Plc (formerly Asia Energy PLC)



Overview

GCM Resources plc (GCM) is a London-based resource exploration and development company. Its principal asset is its undeveloped coal deposit in the Phulbari region of Bangladesh, the development of which is awaiting approval from the Government of Bangladesh. It also has investments in other companies with mining interests. The company's shares are quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). (Ticker code: GCM).

The Phulbari Coal Project is a substantial, world class coal resource that will support a long life, low cost mining operation. It is the only such deposit in Bangladesh that has been subjected to a full Feasibility Study and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment prepared to international standards. In partnership with the Bangladesh Government, civil society and the community, GCM is committed to developing the Phulbari Coal Project to the highest social and environmental standards. By doing this, GCM seeks to maximise the benefits of the Project for both the Company’s shareholders and the people of Bangladesh.

The Company (GCM) under its former name, Asia Energy PLC, was incorporated in England and Wales as a public limited company on 26 September 2003. Asia Energy PLC was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange on 19 April 2004. Through seed capital raising and the subsequent placement of shares, some £14 million was raised.

In November 2005, following submission to the Government of Bangladesh of the Phulbari Coal Project's Feasibility Study and Scheme of Development, the Company placed an additional 7 million shares and raised a further £33 million.

GCM actively reviews investment opportunities in order to broaden its global investment portfolio.

Coal Project facts

■ Energy security and diversity – The Project has a unique role to play in addressing the country’s electricity shortfall as its development will provide the basis for a step change in the country’s electricity generating capacity.
■Regional development – The Project will provide 17,000 jobs (direct and indirect). In addition the development of new industries using the industrial mineral co-products from the mine will create thousands of more jobs. The living conditions of all affected people will be improved and their livelihoods will be restored and in many cases improved. As a result of year round irrigation, improved water quality, improved inputs and improved farming practices it will be possible to produce three crops per year with higher yields than at present.
■Huge economic impact – Phulbari will contribute 1% to Bangladesh’s GDP each year and pay US$7.0 billion in taxes, royalties and service charges to the Government over the life of the Project. The replacement of high sulphur imported coals and other hydrocarbons will have a positive effect on balance of payments and air quality.

In partnership with the Bangladesh Government, civil society and the community, GCM is committed to developing the Phulbari Coal Project to the highest national and international social and environmental standards. By doing this, GCM seeks to maximise the benefits of the Project for both the company’s shareholders and the people of Bangladesh.

Background

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with some 162 million people living in an area two thirds the size of the United Kingdom or about the size of New York State. Less than one third of its population live in cities while the majority live in rural areas relying on a predominantly subsistence lifestyle. GDP per capita is around US$1,700 (ppp) per annum compared with a world average of US$10,500. Less than half the population have access to electricity. Bangladesh is a country of enormous potential. It has the eighth largest work force in the world and is included in the “Next Eleven” countries that, after the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), were identified by Goldman Sachs as having the potential to become the world’s largest economies in the 21st century. It has enjoyed more than 6% economic growth in real terms over the last five years as well as substantial improvements in measures of human development. For example, between 1980 and 2006 life expectancy has improved from 48 years to 63 years and literacy rates have improved from 29% to 53%.

Bangladesh is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world with a significant proportion of the population living in remote or ecologically fragile areas such as river islands or cyclone prone coastal areas. Two thirds of the country is less than five metres above sea level making it vulnerable to the predicted effects of climate change.

Although Bangladesh is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, it is not itself a significant emitter of carbon dioxide. Per capita carbon dioxide emissions (0.3t/capita) are substantially below other countries in the region (Pakistan 0.9t/capita, India 1.4t/capita, China 4.9t/capita) which themselves are substantially less than emissions from developed countries (UK 8.9t/capita, USA 18.9t/capita). Even with the addition of the 4,000MW of electricity capacity which Phulbari coal could support, Bangladesh would still be one of the lowest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world, substantially less per capita than its neighbouring countries.


http://www.gcmplc.com/

"

Still a moving ajcc :)

yes smiler - up well early today but dropped back a bit later - still, going the right way....

Global Coal Management PLC
26 February 2007

Global Coal Management plc ('the Company')

Notification of significant holding


Under sections 198 to 202 of the Companies Act 1985 (the 'Act') and rule 15 of
the AIM Rules the following information falls to be disclosed:

The Company was notified on 26th February 2007 that Ospraie Management, LLC
acquired an interest in the shares of the Company resulting in a total holding
of 1,646,436 Ordinary Shares of 10p each in the Company. This represents 3.38%
of the issued share capital of the Company.


26 February 2007

The interested party !!!! http://ospraie.com/

Of Interest !

Phoenix, AZ February 6, 2007 Energy Business Reports publishes a new report on "Commercialization of Coal-to-Liquids Technology" examining how the use of coal liquification technologies may help America wean itself of foreign oil imports. CTL fuel is already in use elsewhere, like South Africa, where it meets 30 percent of transportation fuel needs.

Through liquefaction or coal-to-liquids technology (CTL), a process of converting solid coal into liquid fuels and/or chemicals, coal can be made into liquid fuel such as gasoline or diesel and used as a substitute for petroleum products. Coal-based fuels can be used directly in todays vehicles, with no need for modification.

Road trials of coal-based fuels have shown that significant local air quality improvements can be achieved through the reduction of tailpipe emissions. Some studies suggest particulate emissions can be up to 75% less than with traditional diesel, and oxides of nitrogen can be reduced by up to 60%. The optimization of new engines for these fuels will offer even greater reductions, particularly of nitrogen oxides. New engine design, such as direct injection, will offer yet greater efficiencies.

Coal liquefaction is a well-developed technology, and given the large coal reserves in the U.S., coal-based fuels could rapidly replace other sources of transportation fuel to meet future needs.

Full report details

While coal itself is a low efficiency fuel and a notorious polluter, advanced gasification technologies can convert over 95 percent of coal fuel into a combustible gas, commonly called syngas. Syngas consists mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen and can be used like natural gas to efficiently generate electricity through an integrated gas turbine/steam turbine combined cycle. Syngas is also a basic feedstock for manufacturing a range of chemicals and synthetic fuels, such as hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, dimethyl ether, and Fischer-Tropsch gasoline and diesel, which can substitute for oil.

The positive impacts of coal-based fuel include long-term environmental advantages ranging from the reclamation of decades-old coal waste piles and the mining of secondary coal sources, to possible ways to reduce hazardous emissions in coal combustion.

Emissions from coal-fired power plants represent the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, a primary cause of global warming. However, the process of coal liquefaction is a clean and efficient one, and there are no harmful gases released into the atmosphere, thus helping the climate. While the coal to liquids process is more CO2 intensive than conventional oil refining, there are options for preventing or mitigating emissions. Due to the broad global distribution of coal reserves, emissions may be avoided through shorter fuel transport distances. For coal to liquids plants, carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be a low cost method of addressing CO2 concerns and may result in greenhouse gas emissions being some 20% lower over the full lifecycle than fuels derived from crude oil.

http://www.themanufacturer.com/us/detail.html?contents_id=5227

Coal Stocks:
Surging Worldwide Energy Demand To Fuel Coal Profits
in 2007

Based on current production levels, oil reserves will last another 41 years, and gas reserves will last another 65 years. That is, of course, if supplies remain uninterrupted in the Middle East and Russia, which produce 68% of the worlds oil and 67% of the worlds gas.

Coal supplies, on the other hand, are a much different story

Right now, coal reserves total more than a trillion tons worldwide, which could last almost 155 years. In the U.S., there are roughly 267 billion tons of recoverable coal enough to fuel the countrys energy demands for 240 years!

Its no surprise, then, that profits at the worlds leading coal producers are on fire

(older article)
Gas prices are soaring, as anyone with a car well knows. But, though $40+ a barrel prices are hurting wallets, economist David Dapice argues that the situation has the beneficial effect of encouraging countries to look at alternative energy sources with greater urgency. China, for example, recently signed an agreement with a South African energy and chemicals firm to build two coal-to-liquid fuel plants. These plants will jointly produce 440 million barrels of oil a year at the small price of $15 a barrel. The costs of operating the South African company's plants are far less than those that current American technology allows. And the crucial resource coal is widely distributed around the world. One trillion tons of coal enough to last 100 years at current extraction rates is dispersed throughout many continents and countries. However, the coal solution is far from perfect, Dapice concedes. Coal is a highly polluting fuel, and its low prices would undermine the profits earned from oil production. Thus, he argues that the coal-to-liquids technology must be only one element of an integrated program that is needed to deal with fuel security, local pollution, and global warming issues. This program must combine a variety of new technologies with higher emissions standards. The result, Dapice concludes, could be an overhaul of geopolitical competition and conflict over oil, and a move in the direction of investment and efficiency. YaleGlobal

OK, ok, who lit the fire? :-)

Good day today ajcc!

it certainly was Smiler! it's amazing you can do this from a boat!!!!!! clever old you...

Darradev, the fire is hotting up :)

something's about to be announced i feel - and methinks it may be some good news...... - here's hoping

seeing only 570,350 shares traded yesterday, methinks so too > : ))

Aye, I believe a few smart moves to 'support' the local economy of the country may have proved successful. I'm looking now for an increase in trading volume to support the idea.

Minesite:

Global Coal Management (AIM: GCM) saw its shares jump 30 per cent to 157.25p. There was nothing concrete behind the move, but perhaps a rumour is doing the rounds that circumstances in Bangladesh as regards the Phulbari coal project are set to improve. Global Coal Management was formerly known as Asia Energy, but its shares plunged last year when the status of its involvement in Phulbari was called into question by a representative of the Bangladeshi government. Since changing its name, the company has begun to make investments elsewhere, one in AIM-listed GVM Metals and another in a Bangladeshi telecommunications group. Maybe another significant investment is on the cards.

perhaps just living up to my handle, but i see nothing in the above to make me rush in to buy after last week's surge - e.g "nothing concrete"; "perhaps a rumour"; "maybe" ....... if you already hold, that is a different matter, but i also get concerned when companies move away from their core biz, as indicated above.

topped up alot at 87 and in the mid 90s so very pleased, I think Darradev is right as they are supporting the local economy, this Might help them win over the government in there main aim, if that Does happen then we will see a return to the dizzy hights it was at or higher !! But if Not there new investments could well support the sp I got in at so IMHO well worth the risk :) But could be interesting times ahead !! may be one to watch Cynic !

possibly, but shall try very hard to reduce rather than increase any exposure, certainly over next week(s) ..... big regret is selling SCHE last week, since when it has gone up by another 10% with a good write-up in Sunday Times today

5 March 2007
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by the most recent prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, said it wanted the election held by July 11, six months after a state of emergency was declared.

But its rival the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, Khaleda's predecessor in power, said the poll should be held by June.

The Awami League did not give a reason for the time of its choice, but analysts said it was probably to avoid the storm season that usually hits around late June or early July.

Both the BNP and Awami League conveyed their choices to the Election Commission, which said it could not start preparations for the vote until the army-backed interim government had set a date.

Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency since January 11 imposed following weeks of countrywide violence mostly between activists of the two parties.

The election, originally planned for January 22, was postponed amid political chaos.

All political activities except for indoor meetings are banned under the emergency rule.

Since the rule was invoked, security forces have arrested more than 150 politicians, including former ministers.

June/July could Prove very interesting for GCM, phulbari Coal is needed and it is in the countrys own best interest... That is for sure !! Lets Hope GCM and the New government can come to an agreement which benefits both parties and the people of Phulbari !

they well TRUST ME