PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australian coal miner Whitehaven Coal on Tuesday warned of an oversupply in the coal market within the next six months, which could further depress coal prices.

In its quarterly report for the three months to June, Whitehaven pointed out that thermal coal exports from the major exporting countries had increased over the first half of the year, pushing thermal coal prices to the lows experienced over recent weeks.

Whitehaven sold about 2.9-million tonnes of coal during the three months to June, up 12% on the previous corresponding period. Export sales during this time comprised of 529 000 t of metallurgical coal and 2.32-million tonnes of thermal coal.

Further, some 0.05-million tonnes of thermal coal was sold to the domestic market during the quarter under review.

Whitehaven told shareholders on Tuesday that the company had established new run-of-mine (ROM) and saleable coal production records during the full year ended June 2014, which reached 11.5-million tonnes and 10.3-million tonnes respectively, up 27% and 26% over the previous financial year.

New production records were achieved at the New South Wales-based Narrabri, Tarrawonga and Werris Creek operations during the full year, which Whitehaven said highlighted the strong performance from all the company’s mines during the year.

The Narrabri mine produced 1.69-million tonnes of ROM coal and 1.38-million tonnes of saleable coal for the quarter under review, up 114% and 40% respectively on the previous corresponding period, when a longwall changeout was under way.

For the full year, the operation delivered a record 5.6-million tonnes of ROM coal and 5.2-million tonnes of saleable coal, an increase of 54% and 51% respectively on the previous financial year.

The Tarrawonga mine delivered 2.1-million tonnes of ROM coal during the full year, and 1.91-million tonnes of saleable coal, while the Werris Creek mine produced 2.3-million tonnes of ROM and 2.3-million tonnes of saleable coal during the full year to June.

Meanwhile, construction at the Maules Creek project, in north-western New South Wales continued, with about 1.5-million cubic meters of material excavated at site. The A$767-million project was expected to rail its first coal in March next year, and would produce at an initial rate of six-million tonnes a year, ramping up to 13-million tonnes a year over a three-year period.