Back through 20c - not too far away, page-3

Whitehaven Coal expects to be debt free within six months as a global energy crisis drives prices for New South Wales thermal coal to record levels.GlobalCoal’s weekly settlement price for top quality NSW thermal coal was $US244.11 per tonne on October 8, well above the previous record of $US194.79 set in 2008.The record prices have been driven by a global shortage of energy commodities which has forced big consumers like Dutch aluminium smelter Aldel and European nickel refiner Nyrstar to slash production over the past week.The pain for power consumers in Europe, China, Lebanon and India has been a gain for Australian exporters of coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), with surging prices putting Whitehaven on track for a record annual profit.Whitehaven managing director Paul Flynn said the boom conditions were rapidly erasing the company’s debt.“We expect to fully repay the debt facility in early CY22 [calendar year 2022] and be in a net cash position in the March 2022 quarter,” he said.