JSE-listed coal companies that tackled legacy issues were rewarded with substantial appreciation in their share prices over the past 10 months. Investors in companies such as Wescoal and Resource Generation (Resgen) have enjoyed gains of up to 300% since January. But several others, unable to raise funds for development, are being left out of 2016’s surge in global coal prices. Waterberg sums up the situation in its latest market update: "It is a well-publicised fact that the coal market has suffered a serious degradation in pricing over the last few years. As a result, this has made the development of the Waterberg project and raising ongoing funding difficult." Global coal prices have benefited from China’s decree that its mines have to cut production by 250-million tonnes in 2016. In fact, the cut has been far less, and Chinese authorities are starting to backpedal, fearing a shortage of coal during winter. But coal prices have held steady. Benchmark prices for coal shipped from ...

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