TBE, you'll notice that thermal coal prices at Newcastle, are...

TBE, you'll notice that thermal coal prices at Newcastle, are 80% above their 2009 lows. AQA is mostly hard coking coal. Hard coke is still well over $200/t, although I'd expect this to fall away as the US are pushing their coke onto the market at cheaper prices to secure contracts - Australian producers will likely follow suit otherwise perish. You'll also notice that coal produces on the NYSE on Friday night were HOT HOT (likewise Iron ore producers).

Although the articles paint a gloomy scenario, the fact is Steel production/ Iron ore consumption/ Coal consumption are breaking new records every year.

"Falling prices have already hit the revenues of the top mining companies. Brazil's Vale, the world's biggest iron ore producer, posted its worst earnings results in two years on Thursday, with second-quarter profits down 58 percent as a result of slowing iron ore demand." - As per Reuters Article.

The statement is blatantly false and needs to be retracted.
Vale's 2Q results show that they sold more iron ore indicating growing demand (in line with record demand, Vale is indeed selling record amounts of ore). Their profits on operations were up 6%. The net profit result is down 58% as a result of accounting losses due to Colombian coal assets (sold to Goldman sachs), manganese operations, and mostly the currency impact of holding USD denominated debt against BRL cash (which sunk 10%+ for the quarter).

Following the knee-jerk reaction (probably media induced), Vale's share price has jumped 3% since the release of the earnings report, but is still sitting at a p/e of 6 (or 9 accounting for the accounting effects), and that's despite the earnings component reflecting the current situation.