As much as it might annoy environmentalists it seems the anti-coal crusade of the past 10 years has produced a perverse result. Global coal consumption is rising, coal prices are edging back towards record territory and coal mining companies are becoming the invisible stars of the resources sector.
It wasn’t supposed to be like that with coal routinely vilified as the environment’s number one enemy. That’s a view accepted by Australian governments and some in Europe — but not in Asia or other regions with emerging economies, such as Africa.
If US writer Samuel Clemens (also known as Mark Twain) was alive today he might even be tempted to say the same thing about coal as he said about himself: “reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”. In the case of coal’s resurrection there is no end in sight.
While some investors might be swayed by the environmental protection argument and refuse to buy shares in coal mining companies, there are others trousering fat profits.
The US, where investment trends often start, is where some of the best coal results are being achieved as the mining industry benefits from the pro-coal policies of President Trump.
For the rest of this column: https://stockhead.com.au/columnists/tim-treadgold-why-reports-of-coals-death-are-greatly-exaggerated/