Total garbage. The price of coal is determined by what people are prepared to pay for it. Restrict the supply and people are willing to pay a 300% premium.
Yes, indeed, exactly what I said.
Price of coal is set by what the market can bear; not what the coal miners say the price should be.
When there is an under-investment in supply of an economic good or service, and the demand for that good or service continues to rise, then the equilibrium price rises. Witness coal, oil, gas (oh, and their derivative products, of course, such as petrochemicals and fertilizer (hence, food prices) as well as the long list of products and services that utilise coal, oil and gas as inputs (steel, cement, transportation, shipping, aviation, etc. etc. etc.)
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