There is the further issue of the quality of coal, since the majority of the world reserve is of lower thermal quality than the top-grade anthracitic coal, and will yield less energy per tonne either burned directly or in the form of syngas in ICGC plants.

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The prize here is millions of tonnes of quality thermal coal, and a bunch of aggressive miners from India and China are staking multi-billion dollar bets to snag it.

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Pressure from both machine-stitching (as quality improves) and thermal-sealing (as technology costs fall) will squeeze an entire segment of this lucrative industry right off the map.

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