08/01/2008
Article Details
Source: Equities Magazine
Article Date: 08/01/2008
Summary
For thousands of years, people have used coal for its combustive properties. Worldwide, it’s the largest source of fuel for today’s electricity generation; some 40% is powered by coal. It’s also dirty. Burning coal produces carbon dioxide, ash, and sulfur dioxide. But unless you want to live in the dark, turning off coal plants is not an option, and it won’t be any time soon.
Recognizing this, White Energy (ASX: WEC, OTC: WECFY.PK), based in Sydney, Australia, is in the business of making coal cleaner and more efficient with a chemical process that simply removes water from low-grade coal and briquettes it so that water can’t get back in. High-grade coal can sell for over $60 per ton. Low-grade coal is as cheap as dirt. By taking low-grade coal and turning it into White Coal, the energy content becomes comparable to high-grade coal, and it’s cleaner because low-grade coal has less ash and sulfur.
The company’s first production plant is scheduled to go online this year. It recently received $42 mil- lion from BHP Billiton and raised $45 million through an unsecured convertible note. White Energy’s ADR is largely unknown in the U.S., but that’s changing. The company is opening up offices in the U.S. this year, and it won’t be long until the U.S. investment community notices it.
EQUITIES spoke with John Atkinson, White Energy’s managing director, about his company, coal, and the future of energy…
(January 2008)