Whitehaven Coal's boss has welcomed China's shock new taxes on coal imports saying he hopes they lead to a price rise as struggling miners leave the market.
China's reimposition of three to six per cent levies on coal imports as Australia tries to sign a free trade deal with the country is causing diplomatic tension.
Coal is the nation's second largest export earner after iron ore but Australia's coal miners are already struggling with weak thermal and coking coal prices.
Whitehaven Coal chief executive Paul Flynn said while China's announcement was unexpected and annoying it would help quicken a return to a better supply-demand balance.
He said he felt the thermal coal market was not significantly over-supplied anyway, but China's new tariffs would force out some miners who struggle to find other markets.
"That is a catalyst for people really taking a hard look at their supply profile and making some hard calls," he told an analyst briefing.
"We do actually feel that we are not far away from balance."
China only represented seven per cent of Whitehaven's coal sales so the effect was minimal, he said.
Whitehaven was also on track to start transporting coal out of its new Maules Creek mine in less than six months, he said.
The northern NSW project has been a flashpoint for anti-coal protesters but they have been unable to stop Whitehaven clearing forest land in multiple legal challenges.
The project was 68 per cent complete, ahead of schedule and due to rail first coal in the March 2015 quarter, he said.
Its initial production rate will be six million tonnes a year of semi-soft coking and thermal coal before ramping up to 13 million tonnes.
Whitehaven beat expectations with record saleable coal production of 3.3 million tonnes for the September quarter, up 40 per cent, it said in its latest production report.
Whitehaven achieved an average price of $US89 tonne from sales of its metallurgical products and $US68 a tonne for thermal products during the September quarter.
Whitehaven shares fell five cents, or 3.2 per cent, to $1.495.
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