China ban gives Australian coal miners a quality quandary
An ironic thing happened over the past decade as the Australian thermal coal sector was busy spruiking its merits as the world’s highest quality supplier with the best chance of survival in a decarbonising world.
The average energy content of Australian thermal coal exports went down, while the average content of an unwanted contaminant, ash, went up.
A decade of rising Chinese demand for intermediate quality coal is viewed by most in the sector as the force that drove the trend, while former billionaire Nathan Tinkler blames it on the marketing strategy of the biggest producer Glencore.
China ban gives Australian coal miners a quality quandary
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An ironic thing happened over the past decade as the Australian thermal coal sector was busy spruiking its merits as the worldâs highest quality supplier with the best chance of survival in a decarbonising world.
The average energy content of Australian thermal coal exports went down, while the average content of an unwanted contaminant, ash, went up.
Nathan Tinkler says it is time for the Australian coal sector to reset with an eye on value over volume.Â
Tash Sorensen
A decade of rising Chinese demand for intermediate quality coal is viewed by most in the sector as the force that drove the trend, while former billionaire Nathan Tinkler blames it on the marketing strategy of the biggest producer Glencore.
Benchmark copper leapt to its highest level in more than eight years on Monday, building on last week’s solid gains driven by expectations of stronger demand and tight supply. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 had risen 0.8% to $8,398 a tonne by 0604 GMT, after earlier touching $8,406, its highest since September .
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Bell Bay, at the mouth of the Tamar River, once housed Tasmaniaâs only oil-fired power station. It was built in the 1960s and, when it was decommissioned in 2009, a new plant began operating directly next door â Tamar Valley Power Station â which runs on gas instead.
Today, as the world edges further away from coal, oil and gas, Bell Bayâs sprawling industrial precinct has become the unlikely setting for a new phase of the energy transition, one that is increasingly gaining promise as a missing piece in the push to slow global warming: green hydrogen manufacturing.