South African coal producers competitive due to weak currency

We recently conducted a coal research trip to discuss the latest developments within the South African and Mozambique coal industries. While most producers agreed that South African mining costs had continued to increase by approximately 10% year-on-year in Rand terms, it still remained competitive in a low price environment due to a weak local currency. We heard that two of Mozambique's three coal mines had been placed on care and maintenance, maintaining sales from their stockpiles at present. Mozambique has continued to struggle mainly due to high transport costs, lower than anticipated processing yields and have not received the full benefit of lower diesel prices.