Atlantic Coal PLC Q1 production & sales and Stockton update (4379J)
07 April 2015 - 4:01PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMATC
RNS Number : 4379J
Atlantic Coal PLC
07 April 2015
Atlantic Coal plc ("Atlantic Coal")
Q1 2015 production and sales update
Stockton mine development update
Atlantic Coal, the AIM listed anthracite coal mining company
operating in Pennsylvania, USA announces a positive production and
sales update for the quarter ended 31 March 2015 together with an
update on the development progress at its Stockton anthracite mine
("Stockton"), located near Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
Q1 2015 Key production and sales fundamentals:
-- Clean coal production of 45,669 tons (Q1 2014: 34,451 tons);
-- Total coal sales of 44,356 tons including clean coal sales of
34,916 tons and run of mine (ROM) coal sales of 9,440 tons. (Q1
2014: 36,449 tons);
-- Clean coal stockpile stood at 18,185 tons (Q1 2014: 1,396 tons);
-- Run of Mine ("ROM") production of 136,981 tons (Q1 2014: 86,614 tons);
-- ROM stockpile stood at 59,939 tons (Q1 2014: 58,381 tons);
-- Bank cubic yards ("BCY") of overburden removed 1,082,028 (Q1 2014: 856,254 BCY); and
-- Wash recovery rate of 54% (2014: 39.7%).
Production Summary Q1 2015 (% change on Q1 2014):
Overburden Run of Mine Production Clean Coal Production Total Coal Sales
Removed (BCY) (tons) (tons) (tons)
1,082,028 (+26%) 136,981 (+58%) 45,669 (+32%) 44,356 (+22%)
Stockton mine development update
The Company is pleased to report that in the current cut it is
now mining almost solid coal in the 29 feet thick Mammoth seam. As
is the case in most of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Coalfields the
Mammoth coal the Company has been working up until now has been
worked in the past by underground mining with approximately 35 to
40% of the coal remaining although the Company's experience on the
current cut and study of old underground mine plans means that in
future working areas the Directors expect that the Company will be
working the Mammoth seam with higher levels of coal remaining. The
Directors anticipate that this will have a positive effect on
operational costs in that the working ratio (cubic yards of
overburden excavated per ton of clean coal) will be reduced. It
also has the effect of increasing the remaining reserves which have
previously been assessed on the basis of only 36.5% of the original
insitu coal remaining and, accordingly, the Company is
commissioning a re-evaluation of the reserve base at Stockton.
Further announcement will be made at the appropriate time.
The additional coal in the Mammoth seam means that the Company's
ROM production and the coal content of the ROM have increased. Wash
plant recovery levels are now around 54% as compared with 39.7% for
2014 which the Directors anticipate will increase the yield of
clean coal from the washing plant with a consequent reduction in
washing costs and an increase in clean coal production.
The increase in ROM production has enabled the Company to
generate further significant revenue with sales of ROM coal. Over
9,000 tons of ROM coal was sold in March and the Company has
secured contracts for the supply of substantial quantities of ROM
throughout the rest of 2015.
Atlantic Coal's Managing Director, Steve Best, commented: "I am
delighted to report an excellent first quarter performance in 2015.
Despite another desperately cold winter in Pennsylvania we
surpassed our Q1 2014 performance by some considerable margin and
broke a number of production records with record quarterly ROM
production and overburden removal figures and, had it not been for
persistent sub-zero temperatures and the adverse effect on coal
washing operations, we anticipate that we would also have achieved
record clean coal production albeit this was still 32% up on Q1
2014.
"We are pleased to be able to report the positive developments
in relation to the 29 feet thick Mammoth seam. Our overall sales
volumes are good and I am pleased to report that the average price
for Q1 was up slightly on Q4 2014 in what is a competitive
market.
"The new Komatsu PC3000 hydraulic excavator is now operational
and most of the new fleet of Komatsu plant we announced on 13 March
is now on site and operational with the remainder expected before
the end of April.
"The new mining equipment and improved mining conditions at
Stockton means that we can look forward with confidence to the
remainder of 2015.
"Finally, I am pleased to report that substantial progress is
being made by our full time US based Chairman, Adam Wilson, in
relation to management process and cost savings at Stockton and
also establishing new investor interest in the potential
acquisition of anthracite reserves, mining operations and washing
plant capacity to achieve our objective of being a leading
Pennsylvania anthracite producer and we will make further
announcements on this at the appropriate time."
**ENDS**
For further information on the Company, visit:
www.atlanticcoal.com or contact:
Steve Best Atlantic Coal plc Tel: 0191 386 6392
Nick Naylor Allenby Capital Limited Tel: 020 3328 5656
Alex Price Allenby Capital Limited Tel: 020 3328 5656
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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