Coal Is Still Alive

While coal’s use in the generation of electricity has declined significantly in recent years, the opposite is true for coal used in the steel making process.  Metallurgical coal usage is up, both in North America and abroad, with the U.S. and Canada being net exporters of the commodity.  Global demand has spurred increased prices and at least five new coal developments in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia. 

The smart move for any operator is to not rely on the elevated metallurgical coal pricing we have experienced in recent years.  That is, operators should make efforts to fully understand their development and operating costs to keep them under control for the next downturn, which may ironically be spurred by the many new developments in the metallurgical coal pipeline. 

If you need to evaluate coal projects, our 2019 edition of the Coal Cost Guide is now available. Coal Cost Guide is the industry’s standard reference for mine cost estimating. This loose-leaf manual places data for all pertinent cost estimating areas at your fingertips. It contains over 600 pages of easy-to-find, indexed information to make your cost studies faster and easier.

Your Guide will provide you with in-depth information on the following topics:

Buy the Report

Mine and Prep Plant Cost Models

You’ll receive detailed cost summaries for a broad range of sizes and types of theoretical surface and underground mines and prep plants. This will help you develop quick, order-of-magnitude estimates.

Coal Production Data

You’ll gain historical and current perspectives of coal production by coal rank and geography. The Guide also summarizes distribution, resources and technical data for coal producing areas in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Transportation

You’ll receive a guide to current truck, rail, and ocean shipping charges for coal, equipment and supplies to help you estimate shipping costs and compare alternative transportation methods.

Mining Taxes

You’ll receive clear explanations and current Canadian and U.S. federal, state and provincial taxes and how they apply to your proposed project. All taxes are covered including income, sales, property and all other mining-specific taxes in all of the coal producing states or provinces.

Mining Wages

You’ll receive the results of InfoMine USA’s annual labor surveys for coal mines in Canada and the U.S. This includes wage scales, benefit plans and employment taxes to help you estimate labor costs.

Utility Costs

You’ll receive current industrial electric power and natural gas rate schedules as applied to mining throughout the U.S. and Canada so you can quickly determine your project’s utility costs from actual rate information.

Mine and Processing Equipment

You’ll receive current estimator’s prices for over 3,000 mine and processing equipment items, from 2 hp pumps to 3,400 hp trucks, drills, locomotives, ventilation equipment, crushing and grinding equipment, pumps, motors, continuous miners and more. You can determine capital costs for every item on your equipment list…in a matter of minutes! Convenient tables focus on equipment size and productivity, avoiding the confusion of model names and numbers.

Mine, Processing, Safety and Reclamation Supply Costs

You’ll receive current prices for virtually every supply item in your cost estimate, including safety equipment, fuel, reagents, drill bits, tires, rock bolts, reclamation materials and much more.

Cost Indexes for Mining and Coal Price Statistics

You’ll receive current and historical inflation indexes for key mining categories, plus our valuable Coal MCS indexes. Also included are current and historic price tabulations according to coal rank and coal region, ensuring you have accurate and reliable commodity prices for your cost estimates. You can track the effects of inflation and keep your feasibility studies up to date.