Prof Bruce Hebblewhite: "Firstly you need to realise that coal ain’t coal, there is all sorts of different types of coal which goes back to the geological formation of it in terms of different levels of quality of coal in the ground, so there’s a range of different coal properties.  In big picture terms we refer to both thermal coal, used for power generation, and coking or metrological coal used for steel making.  So that breakdown is largely due to the geological origins of the coal and how it’s used.  So in the steel making mix it’s used to form coke in the coke ovens, used for the steel fabrication process.  Okay, obviously we live in a changing world yes but steel is an integral part of whether it’s the motor vehicle you drive, whether it’s the building that you live in or work in, whether it’s the bridge that you drive over, there’s certainly steel whether it’s reinforcing or whether it’s the main structural elements of any of those structures.  Steel is part of the modern way of life, it is changing accepted and so things like other lighter alloys are replacing steel, plastics are replacing some components of steel in cars for example.  But yes our world still relies very heavily on steel for both light industry, for residential and so on and as I say, a lot of major infrastructure."

Categories: Coal in Australia, Metallurgical Coal
Author: Prof. Bruce Hebblewhite