>>20180202When coals with caking ability are baked in an industrial oven and the volatile matter evaporates, the coal actually swells up like a damn cake, hence the term "caking ability." That swelling, and then turning into hard, porous gray coke fuel, is what is what a coal needs to do to be useful for steelmaking, and nearly all bituminous coals will do this, though some bituminous coals are preferred over others (for now) because they are just cheaper and easier to make into good pure coke (less sulfur and ash to get rid of, for example).
When I get into types of coking coals and the contemporary classification systems of the USA and Australia, that will help investors choose which met coal companies to invest in, since some met coals sell, during slow steel markets, for about the same price as lowly thermal coals, while others (the premium stuff) command much higher prices during a variety of market conditions.
So know what kind of met coals the met coal company you want to invest in produces.
Hint: Warrior Met has some of the best shit, and Alabama in general does.
