Stanmore produces predominately metallurgical coal, which is also referred to as coking coal and is used in the primary steel-making process.
Metallurgical coal is heated to around 1,000 degrees Celsius over 12-36 hours to produce a substance called coke. Coke is almost pure carbon and is added to fuel a blast furnace as part of the basic oxygen steelmaking process. More than 70% of the world's crude steel is produced using this process.
Thermal coal, which is used to generate energy, does not produce coke when heated.
There is currently no alternative to coke in steelmaking using a blast furnace, so demand for metallurgical coal is expected to remain buoyant and continue to support the economics of Stanmore's operations.