The bulk of the Q4 earnings season will be behind us as the month of February winds to a close. There are a handful of notable mining companies that will report their quarterly results in the coming days. Here is what investors can expect as the results trickle in.

Investopedia Markets: Explore the best one-stop source for financial news, quotes and insights.

Digging Out of a Ditch
Before the market opens on Friday, the metallurgical coal supplier Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR) will release its quarterly results before the market open. Analysts are predicting that the company will check in with EPS of 26 cents versus 27 cents in the prior year quarter. Total revenue is expected to jump by 117.7%.

The huge jump in revenue will be primarily attributable to the company's acquisition of Massey Energy last year. The new Alpha Natural is positioned to benefit from expectations that coal use will grow more than the use of competing fuels in 19 of the 26 years between 2010 and 2035. Shares of Alpha Natural are down about 61.9% since this time last year. (For related reading, see Key Players In Mergers And Acquisitions.)

Advertisement - Article continues below.

Last month, when Alpha's competitor Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) reported its quarterly results it said that it expects higher metallurgical coal consumption from China, India and Australia in 2012. The outlook is less optimistic for the U.S., given a stagnant economy and an oversupply of natural gas.

Proving Their Metal
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) is also slated to announce its Q4 results before the opening bell on Friday. The consensus on Wall Street is that the company will report a 9.5% uptick in EPS on a 7.6% increase in total revenue when compared to the year-ago quarter.

The miner is coming off of a record Q3, helped by a surge in gold prices in comparison to 2010. The drop in copper prices from a year ago has been an unwelcomed trend for Newmont, although prices have rebounded significantly from where they were in the fall.

One other basic material stock to watch in the coming days is Thompson Creek Metals (NYSE:TC). On Tuesday of next week, the molybdenum producer is expected to report a loss of 7 cents per share on a 31.0% drop in total revenue when compared to the prior year quarter. Share of Thompson Creek have already rallied 26.3% since the beginning of the year.

The Bottom Line
The coming days will bring an interesting mix of results for these miners. Alpha Natural is going to have to bank on growth from emerging markets to boost earnings in the near term while Newmont and Thomson Creek will need to continue to run efficient operations while metal prices try to breakthrough. Growth is not going to come easily for any of these three companies, but each is positioned well to profit from improvements in the global economic backdrop. (For related reading, see What Is An Emerging Market Economy?)


Use the Investopedia Stock Simulator to trade the stocks mentioned in this stock analysis, risk free!

At the time of writing, Billy Fisher did not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.