Peabody puts exploration assets on the block

US coal giant Peabody Energy is selling most of its Queensland coal exploration portfolio, in what could be the first step in executing a wider exit of its Australian portfolio, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Peabody is handling the sale of its exploration permits and will be hoping that miners, including neighbouring players in Queensland, find “synergies”, or a cost-effective way to access low cost resources, if future market conditions are right.

It could also be a way to ease in and start testing broader appetite for Peabody's operating assets. Some industry players have suggested Peabody has designs on an exit from Australia.

Gloomy thermal coal warnings overlook Asian energy needs

The “Eurocentric” stance on the decline of thermal coal use for energy generation overlooks the importance of the fuel in Asia for supporting economic growth, according to the AFR.

With more than one billion people still without access to electricity, a cheap and abundant fuel such as coal still has a role to play to help solve the problem, even under necessarily stringent environmental constraints.

Steel demand soft for several years: Rio Tinto

Australia's biggest iron ore exporter expects demand for steel in China to be dampened for several years, in comments that are bearish for iron ore prices in the short term, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Rio Tinto iron ore boss Andrew Harding said a short-term oversupply of housing in China would keep a lid on demand for steel in the immediate future.