http://www.thetradercentral.com/news After recent flooding on...

http://www.thetradercentral.com/news

After recent flooding on the East coast of Australia restricted coal supply globally, thermal coal is back in high demand. The Queensland floods significantly impacted the production of coal, resulting in a 18% drop in coal exports according to the Australian Bureau of Statics. The nuclear disaster at Fukushima has led to a strong increase in Japanese demand for thermal coal. Last Week mining giant Xstrata and Chugoku Electric agreed to a benchmark price of US$129.80t which represents a 13% increase from a previous benchmark price of US$115t. According to Nomura International Xstrata may look to increase coal production rates by close to 80% within the next 5 years with demand from Asia likely to increase.

With the bullish outlook on coal, here is a list of Coal explorers and producers on the ASX:

Coalspur Mines

Coalspur is a coal exploration and development company based in Alberta, Canada (Listed on both the ASX and the TSX). Coalspur?s flagship project is the Vista Coal Project which covers approximately 8,700 hectares. A recent pre-feasibility study defined a marketable reserve of over 260mt. There is likely to be a substantial increase in reserves with a total of 1,014mt measured and indicated coal resources from Vista & Vista South. Pre-feasibility study estimates a potential for 9mtpa with a mine life of 31 years. According to Wood Mackenzie ,upon development of Vista, Coalspur will be in the top 10 coal exporting companies in North America. 2011 is set to be a busy year for Coalspur with a number of development plans under way with the bankable feasibility study for Vista is due late 2011.