April 9 (Reuters) - Australian miner New Hope Corp <NHC.AX> launched a $3.45 billion offer for Macarthur Coal <MCC.AX>, topping an earlier offer from U.S. coal miner Peabody Energy <BTU.N>. Singapore-listed Noble Group <NOBG.SI> is waiting in the wings with a deal to take a one-quarter stake in Macarthur. [ID:nSGE6370MK]
Macarthur is the top producer of specialty pulverised coals, and the world's biggest exporter of PCI coal, much in demand from major steelmakers.
Following are some key facts about Pulverised Coal Injection (PCI)-type coal:
* PCI coal is crushed (pulverised) into a fine powder and injected into blast furnaces as a replacement for coke in the production of pig iron.
* Typically, 1 tonne of PCI coal can replace 1.5 tonnes of more expensive coking coal.
* PCI coal has been the fastest growing segment of the coal market since the 1990s.
* Miners have struck 2010 contract PCI prices of $170-$180 a tonne, around double the previous year's level amid red-hot demand from China's steel sector.
* Macarthur Coal is the world's biggest supplier of PCI coal for the seaborne market. (Reporting by James Regan, Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
