Coking coal: Characteristics
Coke strength, ash and phosphorus decide furnace costs
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 1,050 Mt (2024) | China mined 49%, Australia 12.5% and Russia 10.5%. India mined 65.7 Mt but imported 57.6 Mt in FY2025. | World Mining Data 2026; Ministry of Coal |
| Inventory and stock levels | not published as a world figure; mills and ports hold working stocks of a few weeks (indicative) | There are no exchange stocks of physical coking coal. Traders watch Chinese port inventories. Indian mills hold stocks at ports such as Paradip, Visakhapatnam and Dhamra. | this tile's lessons; industry practice (indicative) |
| Capacity utilisation | not published for mines; blast furnace utilisation tracks world steel use | Pig iron output was about 1,300 Mt in 2025, including 98 Mt in India, so coking coal demand follows blast furnace runs. worldsteel reports steel capacity utilisation of roughly 75-80% in recent years (indicative). | USGS MCS 2026, Iron and Steel; worldsteel (indicative) |
| Geographic and producer concentration | China 49.4%, top-3 (China, Australia, Russia) 72.4%, HHI 2,849 (production) | Seaborne supply is far more concentrated: Australia dominates premium hard coking coal exports. BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (36.0 Mt, FY2025) and Glencore's Elk Valley Resources (32.5 Mt, 2025) are the largest sellers. The EU imports 66% of its needs. | World Mining Data 2026; BHP FY2025; Glencore 2025; EU CRM 2023 |
| Supply elasticity | short run: low; long run: 5-10 years for new mines | Only a small part of world coal can make strong coke. New mines in Queensland or British Columbia face permits, financing limits and port capacity. Cyclone-hit floods in Queensland can cut exports for months. | this tile's lessons; industry practice (indicative) |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | India's Mission Coking Coal targets about 140 Mt of domestic coking coal by 2030 (Ministry of Coal, indicative) | India plans 300 Mt of steel capacity by 2030-31 (National Steel Policy 2017), mostly blast furnace, which would raise import needs. Mongolia is building rail links to China. Australian additions are mainly mine extensions. | Ministry of Coal (indicative); National Steel Policy 2017 |
| Logistics and export flows | seaborne trade about 300-330 Mt, roughly 30% of output (indicative); coke exports worth $9.6 billion in 2024 | Main routes: Hay Point, Dalrymple Bay and Gladstone to India, Japan, Korea and China; Vancouver and US East Coast ports to Asia and Europe; Mongolian trucks and rail to China. India is the largest coke importer by value (17.4% in 2024). | UN Comtrade 2024; this tile's lessons; seaborne volume indicative |
Material characteristics Energy commodity
Coking coal is valued for its ability to soften, swell and fuse into strong, porous coke that holds up the burden in a blast furnace. Coke strength, ash, sulphur and phosphorus decide how much coke and flux a furnace needs and the quality of the hot metal. Premium hard coking coal from Queensland sets the benchmark price.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coke Strength after Reaction (CSR) | premium hard coking coal about 70-75; semi-soft below about 50 | Strong coke lets large furnaces run with less coke per tonne of iron | Platts PLV HCC FOB Australia specification (indicative) |
| Ash | premium export grades about 8-10%; washed Indian coking coal often 17-20% or more | Each extra point of ash raises coke rate and slag volume | Platts (indicative); Ministry of Coal (indicative) |
| Volatile matter | low-vol 17-22%, mid-vol 22-28%, high-vol above 28% (air-dried) | Blends are built to a target volatile range for coke yield | Industry classification (indicative) |
| Sulphur | premium grades about 0.5-0.6% | Sulphur passes into hot metal and must be removed | Platts (indicative) |
| Phosphorus | typically below 0.05% | Phosphorus makes steel brittle and is hard to remove | Industry practice (indicative) |
| Fluidity and coke yield | Gieseler fluidity varies widely; 1 t of coal yields 600-800 kg of coke | Fluidity sets how well coals blend; yield sets coal needed per tonne of coke | ASTM D2639; Smil 2016 |