Coal & Allied 3Q Production Impacted By Weather
13 October 2010 - 2:56PM
Dow Jones News
Poor weather caused Coal & Allied Industries Ltd.'s (CNA.AU)
share of coal production from its mines to fall 15.3% on the year
in the third quarter, the miner said Wednesday.
Production of the thermal coal used in power stations dropped to
3.6 million tons in the three months to Sep. 30 from 3.7 million
tons the previous year, while the more valuable coking coal used in
steelmaking fell by half to 618,000 tons from 1.3 million tons.
Total coal production dropped to 4.2 million tons from 5.0
million tons the previous year.
The coal miner, Australia's third-largest, blamed "extended
periods of wet weather", which caused 13% of calendar time to be
lost, and cut its full-year production forecast as a result.
Production and sales from its mines in the Hunter Valley region
of Australia are now expected to be 25 million tons to 26 million
tons, including shares attributed to its joint venture
partners.
Coal & Allied is 75% owned by Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP).
-By David Fickling, Dow Jones Newswires; +61 2 8272 4689;
david.fickling@dowjones.com