Chinese Coal Mine Repurposing And Coal Trading Ideas (SCOK, BTU)

Coal has long been a heavily mined resource in China. Due to loose regulations until recent years, pollution from coal has been rampant throughout China. Reuters reports, "Despite talk of limiting production and tougher environmental standards, coal output is surging and China is spending heavily on new exploration projects. Companies such as SinocoKing Coal SCOK and Peabody Energy Corp. BTU are among the big players in Chinese coal production. Coal has supplied more than 70 percent of China's energy for the past 50 years and consumption has increased around 10 percent a year since 2000." This level of coal consumption has been accompanied by harsh damage to the environment. A World Bank Study in 2007 reported, "16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China." Environmental damage is not the only concern with Chinese mining. Mining coal in China is a dangerous profession. Reuters reports, "China produces around a third of world coal supplies, but is responsible for about 80 percent of global mining fatalities. Illegal mining operations account for almost 70 percent of the country's fatalities. China has been cracking down on them, while lifting safety standards at licensed mines." Fuxin, located in China's Liaoning province, is trying to make the most of their situation as an area that has suffered from mining coal. Fuxin is trying to create a coal mine theme park. This idea is one of many in a proposed 10-million-yuan rehabilitation project. In the Reuters article, Chen Qi, head of the Fuxin tourist bureau, said "private investment in the tourism and park projects was expected to reach about 4 billion yuan over the coming years." Peabody Energy BTU operates coal mines in the US and Australia and also markets, trades, and brokers coal. BTU has a short interest of only 16.5%. At last check, BTU was trading at $61.90, down 0.18% from Friday's close. SinacoKing & Coal SCOK is a coal producer in China. SCOK's short interest is 4.6%. 2010 sales growth for SCOK was up 176.7%. At last check, SCOK was trading at 13.68, up 4.83% from Friday's close.