PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal miner Coronado Global Resources has revised its production guidance for the 2023 financial year on the back of adverse operating conditions at its Buchanan mine, in the US, and unexpected downtime repairs at its Curragh mining complex, in Queensland.

Saleable production expectations have been downgraded from the original 16.8-million tonnes to 17.2-million tonnes guidance, to between 16.2-million and 16.4-million tonnes.

Average mining cost estimates have also increased from the previous estimate of between $84/t and $87/t sold, to between $97/t and $102/t sold, while capital expenditure for the full year has decreased from between $260-million and $290-million, to between $220-million and $240-million.

Coronado told shareholders that during the September quarter, mining activities at the Buchanan mine were temporarily impacted by geological conditions in the coal seam that slowed production rates and impacted yield. Those adverse conditions, related to a rock intrusion, have now been addressed and operations are returning to normal and every effort is now being made to recover these lost tonnes in the fourth quarter 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

Also in mid-September, one of the draglines at Curragh experienced a mechanical failure in the propel unit. Repairs are already underway and expected to be completed no later than the end of October.

Production from Curragh in the 2023 financial year will be impacted owing to the resulting delayed ability to move waste. Coronado is revising its plans for the balance of 2023 and full-year 2024 to mitigate as much as possible the impact from these dragline repairs.

“Notwithstanding these two short-term nonrecurring operational challenges, net of the efficiency gains in capital expenditures, we expect this to have a minimal impact on year-end cash on the balance sheet of a maximum $10-million reduction assuming none of the lost production can be recovered,” said Coronado executive chairperson Gerry Spindler.

He said the company had identified and was aggressively pursuing actions to recover as much of the impacted tonnes as possible in the next six months.