«It's really a tale of two markets,» he said, noting that as U.S. thermal
coal prices soften, demand for high - grade metallurgical coal and some thermal coal has helped prop up U.S. coal mining activity in traditional high - volume regions like Appalachia and the Powder River Basin.
Prices for metallurgical
coal, the type used in steelmaking, have plunged in the last year as industrial activity
softens in China and other emerging markets.