BANGALORE, INDIA--September 24, 2009--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Global mining major BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE:BHP) (Melbourne, Australia) has announced that the Newcastle Coal Industry Group (NCIG), a consortium of Australian coal mining firms, has arrived at a long-term agreement with the government of New South Wales about capacity allocation at the Newcastle Port. Other members of the NCIG are Centennial Coal Limited (ASX:CEY) (Sydney, Australia); Donaldson Coal Pty Limited (Sydney, Australia); Felix Resources Limited (ASX:FLX) (Brisbane, Australia); Peabody Energy Australia (Brisbane, Australia), a subsidiary of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) (St. Louis, Missouri); and WhiteHaven Coal Limited (ASX:WHC) (Fortitude Valley, Australia).

BANGALORE, INDIA--September 9, 2009--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE:BHP) (Melbourne, Australia) has indicated that Newcastle Coal Industry Group (NCIG), a consortium of Australian coal mining firms, is committed to resolving the congestion crisis at the Newcastle coal port in Australia. The announcement was made after negotiations among BHP Billiton-led NCIG, New South Wales government officials, and port authorities fell through. The consortium is working out an acceptable methodology to share the port's limited shipping capacity. Felix Resources Limited (ASX:FLX) (Brisbane, Australia), WhiteHaven Coal Limited (ASX:WHC) (Queensland, Australia), Centennial Coal Limited (ASX:CEY) (Sydney, Australia), Donaldson Coal Pty Limited (Sydney, Australia), and Peabody Energy Australia (Brisbane, Australia) are the other members of NCIG.