The main inorganic compounds in coal are FeS2, mixtures of SiO2 and Al2O3 and other alkali metal oxides. The magnetic removal of these compounds depends on their relative susceptibility compared to that of organic mineral-free coal (-6*10-9 kg-1). This assumes that the feed coal consists of a physical mixture of particles of an appropriate size range to be separated. However, this depends on the morphology of the minerals in the coal strata and the degree to which they are liberated on grinding. Measurements of the magnetic susceptibility of the mineral matter and the degree to which each coal can be magnetically separated have shown, for the UK coals studied, the release of the mineral matter determines the effectiveness of the separation process rather than inherent differences in the magnetic susceptibility. The magnetic susceptibility of the mineral matter is in the range +4 to 7*1--8 kg-1 for magnetic fields above 1 T. For coals in which the majority of the mineral matter is liberated, absolute sulphur and ash reductions of between 30 and 40 wt.% can be achieved.