Bituminous coals that soften, swell and fuse when heated without air, so that they can be carbonised into strong coke — and the lower-grade coals blown into blast furnaces as pulverised fuel. Metallurgical coal is the second raw material of the blast-furnace route after iron ore, and about 0.7–0.8 t of it is used for every tonne of hot metal.
Also called
Coking coal
Metallurgical coal
Met coal
Hard coking coal
HCC
Premium low-vol
Semi-soft coking coal
SSCC
PCI coal
Pulverised coal injection
Anthracite
AR
الفحم المعدني (فحم الكوك)
ZH
冶金煤（炼焦煤和喷吹煤）
DE
Kokskohle und Einblaskohle
FR
Charbon métallurgique (à coke et PCI)
ES
Carbón metalúrgico (coquizable y PCI)
IT
Carbone metallurgico (da coke e PCI)
TR
Metalurjik kömür (koklaşabilir ve PCI)
RU
Металлургический уголь (коксующийся и для ПУТ)
Main formsWashed coking coal, semi-soft coking coal, PCI coal, anthracite
Typical sizesRun-of-mine and washed coal, typically 0–50 mm; ground below 3 mm for coke-oven blends
Main standardsISO 13909 (sampling), ISO 562, ISO 1171, ISO 501, ISO 7404-5, ASTM D3172, ASTM D388, ASTM D2639
Key gradesPremium hard coking (low- and mid-vol), semi-hard, semi-soft, PCI (low- and high-vol)
Typical usesCoke-oven blends, blast-furnace injection (PCI), carburising and sintering fuel
Overview
Coal is a sedimentary rock formed from plant matter; its rank, from lignite through bituminous to anthracite, rises with burial depth and time. Only certain bituminous coals are coking coals: heated in a coke oven they pass through a plastic state, release volatile matter and resolidify into a porous, strong carbon mass. That behaviour — measured as swelling, fluidity and dilatation — and the coal's rank, measured by vitrinite reflectance, decide how good a coke it makes.
Hard coking coals make the strongest coke and command the highest prices; premium low-volatile coals from Queensland in Australia set the market benchmark. Semi-soft coking coals make weaker coke and are blended in to reduce cost. PCI coals are not coked at all: they are ground fine and injected through the blast-furnace tuyeres, replacing part of the coke — up to 150–200 kg per tonne of hot metal in modern furnaces. A coke plant always uses a blend of several coals to hit the coke quality it needs at the lowest cost.
Coal is bought on its proximate analysis — moisture, ash, volatile matter and fixed carbon — and on sulphur and phosphorus, which pass into the iron, plus the coking properties for coking coals. Ash dilutes the coke and costs blast-furnace slag and fuel; sulphur ends up in the hot metal.
Australia is the largest exporter of metallurgical coal, followed by the USA, Canada, Russia and Mongolia, and China and India are the largest importers. Chinese coking coal futures are traded on the Dalian exchange — see MESteel's coking coal futures chart. The GCC uses almost no coking coal, because its steel is made by direct reduction and electric furnaces; anthracite and calcined petroleum coke are imported as carburisers, and Iran mines and cokes its own coal for its blast furnaces.
Forms & sizes
Hard coking coal (HCC)
Strong coking properties; premium low-vol and mid-vol grades set the price benchmark
Semi-soft coking coal (SSCC)
Weaker coking properties, blended to lower cost
PCI coal
Low- and high-volatile coals ground and injected into the blast furnace
Anthracite
High-rank coal used as a carburiser in EAF and ladle and in sintering
Typical quality
Ash about 7–10%, sulphur 0.3–0.8%, volatile matter 18–35% depending on grade, total moisture 8–10% as shipped
Standards & grades
Coal is bought on analysis; these are the sampling and test methods contracts usually cite.
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