Further expert comments supporting the increased profitability,...

Further expert comments supporting the increased profitability, & other direct financial benefits, for WHC, with its purchase of BW & Daunia; & now deriving c.70% of its total profits from met coal. Strong WHC SP growth can be expected in the near future.

mining.com A. 20.6.24 A.Currie et al said

..."(Re absolute necessity of met coal- my words) There are also no functional alternatives in the same way that solar, wind and other renewable sources are supplanting fossil-fuel power stations...".

(Re increasing buyouts by thermal producers, of met coal assets- my words) "Profitability helps, too. Premium hard coking coal sells for around $250 a metric ton, with BHP spending roughly $100 and Anglo $115 to dig it up. Soft coking coal sells for around a third less. Thermal coal, meanwhile, fetches less than $140 a ton, with costs ranging from $50 to more than $100. "

Small wonder that thermal coal producers were the buyers in the two largest coking coal deals. Of the 113 million tons of coal Glencore excavated last year, less than a tenth was destined for blast furnaces. Teck’s met coal unit will double that proportion and contribute a third of revenue, based on last year’s figures. The idea is that combined, the business will be WORTH MORE (my emphases) in a spinoff planned by Glencore CEO Gary Nagle.

With BHP-Mitsubishi’s volume, Whitehaven will more than double its overall production and catapult the top-line contribution from met coal to about 70% from less than 10%. The merger also should boost its EBITDA margin and eventually inspire investors to value the enterprise at MORE THAN JUST 3 TIMES (my emphases) those expected earnings over the next 12 months, per LSEG data. The deal also takes the company tantalizingly close to the threshold – 25% of revenue from thermal coal – that can make it easier to tap mainstream banks and insurers".

Mining M&A stokes coal race against cleaner power - MINING.COM