# Thermal coal: Characteristics

Paid for heat, penalised for ash and moisture

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/characteristics/

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 7.2 billion t of steam coal plus 0.62 billion t of lignite (2024); 9,242 Mt of all coal | China mined 54% of steam coal and India 14%. Coal India produced 781 Mt in FY2025. | World Mining Data 2026; Energy Institute Statistical Review 2025; Coal India FY2025 |
| **Inventory and stock levels** | power plant stocks set in days of burn: India's CEA norms are roughly 12-17 days for pithead plants and 20-26 days for plants far from mines (indicative) | Coal stocks sit at mines, ports and power stations rather than exchanges. China also holds state reserve stockpiles and its port stocks at Qinhuangdao are watched by traders. World reserves of 1,074 billion t equal about 116 years of output, so geology is not the constraint. | CEA stock norms (indicative); Energy Institute 2025; this tile's lessons |
| **Capacity utilisation** | not published as a world mine figure; India's coal power plant load factor about 69% in FY2025 (CEA, indicative) | Mine utilisation is not reported consistently. Power plant load factors show demand: China's coal fleet runs well under half its hours as wind and solar grow (indicative). Coal supplied 75% of India's 2,030 TWh of electricity in 2024. | CEA (indicative); Energy Institute 2025 |
| **Geographic and producer concentration** | China 54.1%, top-3 (China, India, Indonesia) 79.2%, HHI 3,313 (steam coal); exports: Australia 44% and Indonesia 24% of coal export value | Production is highly concentrated but mostly consumed at home. Trade is concentrated in Indonesia and Australia. China Shenhua produced 332 Mt in 2025 and Coal India 781 Mt in FY2025, so Coal India alone is about a tenth of world steam coal. | World Mining Data 2026; UN Comtrade 2024; company reports |
| **Supply elasticity** | short run: medium (existing open-cut mines can add shifts and fleets within months); long run: 5-10 years for new mines and rail | China and India have raised output quickly by government order. New export mines need port and rail capacity and face financing limits as banks and insurers exit coal. | this tile's lessons; industry practice (indicative) |
| **Project pipeline and CapEx** | India targets about 1.5 billion t of coal output by FY2030 (Ministry of Coal, indicative); Coal India's FY2026 target was 875 Mt | India is auctioning commercial blocks and building rail lines in Odisha and Jharkhand. China keeps approving new coal capacity for security. Western exporters are mostly extending existing mines rather than opening new ones. | Ministry of Coal Annual Report 2025-26; Ministry of Coal targets (indicative) |
| **Logistics and export flows** | seaborne thermal trade about 1 billion t, roughly 13% of output (indicative); coal exports worth $129 billion in 2024 | Main routes: Indonesia's Kalimantan anchorages to China and India, Newcastle to Japan, Korea and Taiwan, Richards Bay to India. In India coal is the largest freight on Indian Railways, and rake availability limits supply in summer peaks. | UN Comtrade 2024; this tile's lessons; seaborne volume indicative |

#### Material characteristics Energy commodity

Thermal coal is sold on its energy content. The price falls with ash and moisture, which add weight and waste but no heat. Sulphur matters for emissions limits and boiler corrosion. Volatile matter and grindability decide how easily a boiler can burn it. Indian coal is low in sulphur but very high in ash.

| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Calorific value** | Newcastle benchmark 6,000 kcal/kg NAR; Indonesian ICI-4 4,200 kcal/kg GAR; Indian grades G1-G17 in 300 kcal bands (GCV) | Price is set per unit of energy delivered | globalCOAL NEWC; Argus/Coalindo ICI; Ministry of Coal grading (indicative) |
| **Ash** | Australian export coal about 12-20%; Indian coal often 30-45% | Ash lowers heat value, raises handling cost and creates fly ash to dispose of or sell to cement makers | Industry specifications (indicative); CEA |
| **Moisture** | Indonesian sub-bituminous coal often 25-40% total moisture; Newcastle coal about 10-15% | Water adds freight cost and lowers net energy | Industry specifications (indicative) |
| **Sulphur** | Newcastle coal usually under 0.75%; Indian coal about 0.5% | Higher sulphur needs flue gas desulphurisation to meet SO2 limits | globalCOAL (indicative) |
| **Volatile matter** | about 25-40% for bituminous steam coal | Affects ignition and flame stability in boilers | ASTM D388 rank classification (indicative) |
| **Hardgrove Grindability Index** | about 45-70 for most traded coals | Low values need more mill power and wear | ASTM D409 (indicative) |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/index.md)
- [Energy overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/energy/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/correlation/index.md)
- [How energy resides](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/resides/index.md)
- [Abundance](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/abundance/index.md)
- [Fluctuation in time](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/time/index.md)
- [Across the Earth](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/geography/index.md)
- [Impact on nature](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/nature/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/overview/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/criticality/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/links/index.md)