Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of coal miner James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq: JRCC) surged 15% in intraday trading Monday after announcing plans to buy International Resource Partners for $475 million in cash.

So what: The purchase, which includes coal marketing and trading business Logan & Kanawha Coal Co., will roughly double James River's size and greatly increase its exposure to metallurgical coal, used to produce steel. Ever-growing resource demand in countries like China and India have sent met coal prices surging over the past few months, fueling a recent spike in coal acquisitions as well.

Now what: Don't let today's 15% pop scare you away from James River. From Mr. Market's reaction, James River seems to be getting a great deal on International Resource at a time when big peers such as Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) and Alpha Natural (NYSE: ANR) are all looking for inexpensive ways to pounce on rocketing steel demand. Additionally, James River shares have lagged the coal sector as a whole over the past year, making it a relatively interesting bet as well.

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