"Could you add (UNV) Universal Coal to the chart library would you comment on the "coal cycle" sometime in relation to investing in upcoming producers/producers/producers with expanding production and coking/thermal themes? As one new to the Collective, the week seems on a better footing with the Friday audio."

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for this suggestion and your kind words. Universal Coal has now been added to the Chart Library. You may also be interested in a review of major Australian coal producers I conducted on January 13th. Most of the shares covered have since pulled back and are in the process of finding support in the region of their 200-day MAs.

This article by James Reagan for Reuters appeared in today's Mineweb newsletter and contains an update on the condition of Queensland's coal mining sector. Here is a section:

The Queensland Resources Council industry group expects total coal production for fiscal 2010/11 from the nation's main coal mining state will be cut to 170 million tonnes from a previous estimate of 200 million tonnes, based on its feedback from coal-handling terminals.

The council's board of directors includes executives from some of the world's biggest coal mining companies, including BHP Billiton, Xstrata , Rio Tinto and Anglo American .

The extent of lost production indicates the coal mining industry is only slowly recovering from the devastating floods that slashed production and damaged infrastructure between late November and February.

"The recovery has been a very slow process," Jim Devine, a spokesman for the mining group told Reuters.

Although is has stopped raining, many mines are still flooded or face logistical and regulatory hurdles because of the water salinity in pumping out the water, according to the Treasury.

A report from Standard Chartered posted in Comment of the Day on August 24th which concentrates on future supplies of essential commodities such as thermal and coking coal is also sure to be of interest.


Thermal coal has been subject to increased investor interest following the Japanese nuclear accident. As I pointed out on Friday, while US coal consumption may decrease due to a more competitive natural gas pricing structure, it remains the most relied upon energy source globally and will continue to account for a considerable portion of the global energy mix for the foreseeable future.

Demand for coking coal is reliant on the global steel industry. Provided global growth remains on an upward trajectory, this sector should remain demand dominated over the medium term.