Platts to stop publishing Oak Grove US hard coking coal relative price

S&P Global Platts has decided to discontinue publication of the Oak Grove US hard coking coal brand assessment, effective April 1, 2020.

The decision follows a four-week period of market feedback and requests for information to shareholders, which has ended without further clarity on the future operations of the mine.

The mine was idled during the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the exclusive coal marketer for the mine, Javelin Global Commodities.

Mine operator, Murray Metallurgical Coal Holdings, filed voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio on February 11, and sought a sale of assets.

Under the planned discontinuation, the last Oak Grove assessment is due to be published on March 24, 2020.

Until then, Platts will continue to assess Oak Grove spot pricing based on its typical specifications and with reference to Australian premium HCC prices.

Platts will continue to publish assessments for the remaining brands -- Beckley, Blue Creek No. 7, Blue Creek No. 4, Buchanan, and Windber.

The Oak Grove assessment is currently published in the US Metallurgical Coal Relativities table on page 9 of the Steel Markets Daily publication, page 8 of Coal Trader International publication, and page 6 of Coal Trader publication.

It also appears on the pages PMA 1065, 1066 of the Platts Metals Alert, in the Platts Market Center and in the Platts price database under the following codes: (weekly code), MCAPA04 (monthly average), MCAPA03.

Please submit any feedback, comments or questions to pl_cokingcoal@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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