b'CommentaryCanberra observeddetermining these prices, and you would not want to forecast how these might change in 2024.Thermal coal demand continues todeclineThe price for thermal coal peaked in September 2022 at $US 468/t. At the endof 2023 it was only $US 135/t. The two only-coal companies in the top 150are Yancoal and Whitehaven. Their market capital values declined from $8.1bn to $6.5 bn and from $8.2 bn to $6.2 bn, respectively. The price of metallurgical coal used to produce steel, remained at about $US 300/t throughout 2023. As it takes around 770 kg of coal to make oneFigure 2. The All Ords index (blue) and the total market capital of the resource companies in the top tonne of steel in basic oxygen blast150companies and BHP (grey). There has not been any correction for inflation. furnaces, there is likely to be a constant demand for it in the foreseeable future (https://www.focus-economics.com/commodities/energy/coking-coal/).Lithium loses its lustreAs we know lithium is a key component to make batteries and the global production has increased from 28000t of lithium carbonate (or similar material) in 2010 to 130 000 t in 2022. Figure 4 shows the history of the price of lithium since 2010. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/606684/world-production-of-lithium/). Australia topped the list of producing countries in 2022 by delivering about 50% of the global production. The second and third bestproducers were Chile and China (https://www.knowledge-sourcing.com/resources/thought-articles/the-top-10-lithium-producing-countries/).In 2023 global production increased andFigure 3. Selected commodity prices from 2019-2023 for thermal coal, gold, iron ore and West Texas crude.the price plummeted to about one third of the peak in 2022. Australia will have to fight hard to maintain its number oneposition.Fortunately, it is unlikely there will be situation like the Dutch tulip bulb market bubble of 1637 where the price of bulbs rose by a factor of 400, only to fall to half of the original price. Newmont buys Newcrest Mining, but Brookfield fails to swallow OriginNewmont is the worlds leading gold company and a producer of copper, zinc, lead, and silver. It has projects in Africa,Figure 4. The average price of lithium carbonate between 2010 and 2023 in $US/t. See text for more detailsFEBRUARY 2024PREVIEW 31'