High-tech coal traders now have a new online forum in which to do business, following the launch of oz-coal.com on June 30.

 

The new site offers online facilities for buying and selling coal, particularly in the thermal spot market, but promises to be different from similar sites established in the past year.

 

Designed to be non-contentious to the coal industry's various participants, by retaining the confidential nature of coal transactions and target coals that fall outside the ambit of mainstream coal marketing the site offers buyers and sellers a non-threatening entry into the world of e-commerce.

 

This is the only site in the world with a coal business service centre offering a total package of support to finalise coal sales transactions.

 

Unlike some of its competitors, the site is not run by traders, so it can maintain its independence from transactions.

 

The site is a joint venture between two Queensland companies, TransCoal and Ultra-Systems Technology. Lindsay Juniper's Ultra-Systems provides fuel and power expertise to the coal and power industries, while TransCoal is an integrated coal transport coordination service run by managing director Faith Dempsey, who set up the business two years ago after 20 years of coal marketing experience with BHP and the Jellinbah mine.

 

Dempsey said the idea for the project grew out of an observation that few Australian coals were being offered on internet sites set up for coal marketing.

 

"I felt it was going to be difficult to try and establish a site to sell generic coals because people would not willingly put these coals onto the internet for marketing purposes. We decided to take an angle that would not be sensitive to coal companies. We decided to target the 'out of specification' coals," said Dempsey.

 

Non-generic coals were often regarded as nuisance coals by mines which had to decide whether to dump, wash or blend them into the main product. "We've set up ozcoal.com to attract the coals the coal marketers do not have time to worry with. This is putting the industry's toe in the water with this type of selling," she said.

 

The oz-coal.com system allows registered users to post parcels of coal for sale, which are displayed on a "Market Board". Unlike the bidding process of some other sites, prices are not posted, nor is the identity of the seller revealed. Only basic coal specifications are displayed, including tonnage and port. A fee is paid to oz-coal.com only if a sale is secured. An added extra is a Blending page that will allow buyers to view a range of coals required for specialised blending purposes and to construct a blend from them.

 

"Potential buyers on the oz-coal.com site are not only end-users but coal traders. Traders can buy coal off the Market Board, add their margin and on-sell the coal. We're not encroaching on their patch either," Dempsey said.

 

The website effectively introduces buyers to sellers and provides the total support needed to finalise transactions. This additional support is offered by the coal sales Business Service Centre on the site, which will be available to anyone regardless of whether they buy through oz-coal.com. Several business service providers have already signed on to have a presence on the site. Offerings range from real-time information such as freight rates to direct email links with providers.

 

Committed providers include Anderson Hughes, which will provide freight chartering information; Carbon Consulting International, which will supply coal sampling and port superintending services; and Queensland Rail, which will be directly contactable for freight rates - a first for the organisation. Banks have been approached to provide foreign exchange and trade finance, and insurers are being lined up to finance stockpiles, said Dempsey.

 

This adds amounts to a 'one-stop-shop' for coal sellers and buyers, allowing them to commission their service requirements right through the coal chain, from coal handling from mine-gate to getting money into the bank. TransCoal, which currently offers these services, is one of the business providers on the site.

 

The next year will be crucial for oz-coal.com with the site maturing, followed by a recognition of the benefits of online trading, particularly for smaller coal mines that do not have the marketing mechanisms of the bigger players. Dempsey hopes that once companies like this have experienced the ease of doing business in a fast, cost-effective manner they will increasingly begin to offer their generic coals online.