Mitsubishi Materials Corp. will continue to produce coal in Japan even after winding down extraction at a mine in Hokkaido by the end of this year. According to The Nikkei, the company began mining coal on Japan’s northernmost main island last year for the first time in 18 years, amid a worldwide surge in coal prices. Although it will close that mine by year-end, in the fall it will start production at another site nearby because global coal prices have remained high. The output will be supplied primarily to a coal-fired thermal power plant run by Hokkaido Electric Power Co. It will also be used at a cement factory owned by Mitsubishi Materials.
