Deloitte put Coal of Africa’s surge down to the company completing its stage three capital fund raising which will enable it to focus on future project developments.

The company’s market capitalisation rose from $45 million on March 31 to $78 million on April 30, beating much larger WA-based ASX-listed coal player Wesfarmers and junior Atrum Coal, whose market caps both dropped over the period.

Coal of Africa’s stock also enjoyed a short lift over the past week, rising from 4.88c on May 1 to 5.75c on May 6.

The market cap of metallurgical coal explorer and developer, which is developing what it says is the world’s largest anthracite deposit in British Columbia, actually dropped from $229 million on March 31 to $206 million on April 30.

Its stock also suffered a small drop over the past week from $1.29 on May 5 to $1.22 yesterday.

The market cap of Wesfarmers, the top company on Deloitte’s WA Index, fell comparatively little from $49.4 billion to $49.119 billion.

Overall, the Deloitte WA Index strengthened slightly in April, with the market capitalisation of WA listed companies increasing by 1.7% to close the month at $131 billion.

Deloitte said the Index performance was boosted by stronger commodity prices, providing some welcome relief and a small sign of recovery in the WA market.

Most commodities surveyed increased during the month, in particular crude oil prices have shown signs of recovering, increasing by 16.8% and iron ore has rebound from its 10-year low price of $US46.70/tonne. In addition, bulk metals, lead and zinc have increased 14.6% and 10.6% respectively.