The lack of reliable techniques to determine how a particular coal blend will pass through a handling plant is a major problem to both producers and users. Current procedures have drawbacks: the Jenike shear cell test is complex, lengthy to carry out and requires a trained operator, whilst the Durham Cone is simple to use but produces results that are not reliable or repeatable. Tests on a number of coals from different sources have shown that the hydraulic pressure required to move coal along an extrusion trough can be used as a quantitative measure of the handleability of a coal blend.