The Coaltrans conference in Madrid comes at a highly significant time for the world economy. This is a period of great uncertainty and all parts of the coal industry are looking to secure markets and reduce risk in volatile market conditions. The work of inspection companies, therefore, is at a premium.
Inspectorate, part of the Bureau Veritas Group of companies, is one of the largest independent commodity inspection and testing organizations in the world. The company have a presence in all of the world’s major coal and coke importing and exporting countries.
This is particularly important as new sources of supply are brought on stream. In Madrid there will be much discussion of countries such as Mongolia and Mozambique. Inspectorate is already able to provide its services in those regions and we will closely monitor all these developments to assess the implications for the service we offer and where we can offer it. Inspectorate is dedicated to contributing to the efficiency of the industry and meeting its needs.
 
INDONESIA
For example, earlier this year, Inspectorate hosted technical workshops in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, the location of its main coal laboratory in Indonesia.
The workshop covered all aspects of coal quality and weighing and included presentations on India and China — two major export markets — which detailed Inspectorate’s capabilities in those countries. Delegates from the Ministry of Mines in Jakarta also attended and gave an update on documentation required to comply with Indonesia’s export policies together with an update on export policies present and future. The workshop was attended by over 200 clients and staff.
Inspectorate currently has five coal laboratories throughout Indonesia which specialize in export coal inspection, exploration and mining-related testing. Working with the industry in this way — adding technical workshops to the company’s day-to-day activities — benefits its clients and gives Inspectorate a clear view on the way it needs to develop to continue to meet the expectations and needs of its industry.
 
FOCUS ON BIOMASS
It is interesting to look at a new development in the energy industry. In addition to its traditional coal and coke work, Inspectorate is inspecting an ever-increasing amount of biomass products.
For example, Inspectorate’s Northern European office is developing a significant business with the inspection of wood pellets, one of several fuels which the EU has directed should form a percentage of all fuel burned in EU countries.
Wood and sawdust from the pine forests of the Black Forest in Germany is concentrated into small pellets which typically have an ash content of below 0.5%. These pellets are loaded into barges under dry conditions to ensure the product does not become damaged.
Mehmet Gunsur (manager of Inspectorate’s Duisburg office) says,“We supervise the entire loading of the barges and take representative samples for analysis, according to international standards, at our in-house laboratory. These are analysed for the all-important total moisture, ash, volatiles and sulphur content; calorific value and particle size. All of these factors are crucial to control the quality of the fuel sold to one of Europe’s largest energy suppliers.”
Inspectorate’s global marketing and operational teams liaise closely with locally-based experts around the world, so it is easy to contact the company and ensure inspectors are on the spot, protecting its clients’ interests, wherever they are needed.
Inspectorate will be exhibiting at the 31st Coaltrans World Coal Conference in Madrid, and can be found there at Stand No. 15.