jorcing ctps coal: a move from hype to value, page-19

resourcebull and others,

coal is all about stripping ratio. In WA I believe it is very high, towards mid to high 20:1. This is the ratio between how much dirt you dig per thickness of coal. Gas is very expensive in WA and as a consequence coal mining works in WA to fuel power stations to make local power even though the strip ratio is high.

Now come to Queensland where strip ratios are 2 to 5 where there is an export industry in thermal coal. Because metallurgical coal is higher value a higher strip ratio can still be economic. Also consider ash which is really dirt buried along with the original bio-mass and is inseparably fused in the coal, thereby lowering the coal's value, and reducing the economic strip ratio.

CTP's coal may be good quality in places, who knows. In places it may even have ok strip ratios but 200m is a pretty deep sided hole for a dragline to be pulling dirt up from the bottom of.

I keep hammering this point many times...forget about coal.

Coal is a total distraction and a waste of time. Coal mined for export is essentially a dead issue with way too many hurdles, think 20 year time frames at least for infrastructure, permitting etc when even a straight-forward mine takes AT LEAST 10 years. Same with any GTL and UCG (Underground Coal Gasification). Proving up, test pits and sampling, permitting, infrastructure development and funding and ...oh, my head hurts.

Nobody will even pay 1 cent per tonne, as holding costs alone are $600 million per year. At best, $6 million you may get for it. And whoever pays that would know he has just bought the right to spend half a lifetime and a lot of money. For example, would you rather dig up Roxby Downs where there is gold, silver, uranium and heaps of copper, or CTP coal? And even BHP is thinking twice and swallowing hard about Roxby!!

Forget any dream about coal. Dead. It is no more. The coal option has passed on. CTP coal is no more! Coal rests in peace! If you hadn't brought it up in the first place CTP would be closer to bloody oil. CTP coal as an economic process is history. CTP coal has kicked the bucket. CTP's coal has shuffled off the economic stage, so run down the curtain. Coal is an EX-POSSIBILITY.

Please stop resurrecting this dead issue. Coal only EVER registered on the CTP horizon because of its potential as a source rock for gas, and that has GONE! Now move on. Please.