OREANDA-NEWS. Operations at the Panian mine owned by Philippine coal producer Semirara are to resume after the country's Department of Energy (DoE) lifted a two-month suspension in the wake of a fatal landslide.

All operations at the mine were put on hold after a 17 July landslide killed nine workers, forcing Semirara to halt all exports in an attempt to avert a domestic supply shortfall. Semirara supplies six domestic utilities with combined coal-fired generation capacity of 1,500MW on Luzon and the Visayan islands.

The Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources last month lifted a cease and desist order that it had put in place on the mine following the incident, although it remained closed pending a wider investigation.

But the DoE has now also given the go-ahead for mining operations to resume, stating that that the company "has substantially complied with conditions, resulting in a marked improvement in the level of safety in its mining operations". But operations will be subject to regular monitoring to ensure compliance, the DoE said.

Semirara operates three mines in Antique province, including Panian, which produce coal with a calorific value between 4,055-5,500 kcal/kg.

Panian is a key supplier to domestic power plants, while Semirara also sells thermal coal from the mine to buyers throughout Asia-Pacific. Export destinations include China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, India and Cambodia. It produced 8.5mn t and sold 8.89mn t of thermal coal last year, with nearly 60pc exported. The mine sold 7.63mn t in 2013.