I remember reading somewhere that the USA has the largest coal deposits in the world, and that China has the second largest. However I suspect that Russia probably has the world's largest deposits, but much of it is so far from markets that it has been too uneconomic in the past to prove up the resources. Mongolia appears to have heaps of coal, which will get developed at current prices for export to China, Japan, and S Korea (our markets).
Indonesia has heaps of coal, as has Canada. And then there is most of sub-Saharan Africa yet to be explored for coal (except for South Africa).
Coal is plentiful. The issue is transportation costs and building the infrastructure.
Coal prices will fall a lot over time from their current levels.
The same applies to iron ore - there are massive deposits of magnetite deposits in Australia and elsewhere. I think Clive Palmer has WA tenements with a reputed 80 billion tonnes of magnetite.
That is why buying low cost producers such as BHP, Rio, and Vale is the way to go for those wanting more than just short-medium term punts in the commodities sector.
Base metals and PGM seem a better long term investment bet.
The other factor to consider, besides the obvious cyclical nature of the sector, is that the intensity of use of these commodities will fall as Chindia become more efficient in utilising the resources.
In the meantime there is no harm in making hay while the commodities bull shines.
