A needle penetrometry was performed loading steady force in a range from 1 X 10(-3) to 2 N to pelletized coal upon heating via a cylindrical needle. From the observed effects of shear rate on apparent viscosity of softening coal pellet, defined as the shear-rate to shear-stress ratio, it was found that the pellet behaved as a Newtonian fluid for shear rates lower than a critical one while as a pseudo-plastic fluid for higher shear rates. The penetrometry was also carried out varying the force with time. The variable force loading enabled to maintain the shear rate well below the critical one, and thereby to measure the apparent viscosity of coal pellets as Newtonian fluids over a temperature range from 600 to 800 K. Upon heating at 10 K min(-1), the apparent viscosity of Goonyella coal pellet decreased from about 10(10) Pa s at 640 K down to a minimum of about 10(4) Pa s at 755 K, and increased up to 10(9) Pa s at 800 K. In a course of heating as above, the viscosity of Blind Canyon coal pellet decreased above 600 K, underwent a minimum of about 10(6) Pa s at 715 K, and increased up to 10(10) Pa s at 770 K. Decreasing the heating rate from 10 to 3 K min(-1) caused the minimum viscosities of the pellets to increase by 1-2 orders of magnitude. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.