PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal miner Whitehaven Coal has reported a 41% increase in run-of-mine (RoM) production for the quarter ended September, compared with the previous corresponding period, on the back of a 136% increase in production at its Narrabri mine, in New South Wales.
Whitehaven stated on Monday that the Narrabri mine produced 2.35-million tonnes RoM coal during the September quarter, with the higher output driven by a longwall change-out.
Production from the Maules Creek mine also increased by 23% during the period under review, as the operation began its second year of commercial production. The mine produced 1.9-million tonnes RoM coal for the three months to September.
Coal sales for the September quarter reached just over five-million tonnes, which was 12% higher than the previous corresponding period.
Metallurgical coal sales from Maules Creek mine accounted for just over 20% of the mine sales, as semi-soft coking coal output from the mine continued to attract strong market interest.
The miner reported that it continued to make good progress with trial shipments of Maules Creek semi soft coking coal to a number of steelmakers in the Asia region.