PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal miner Whitehaven Coal has announced record full-year and quarterly saleable coal production from its New South Wales coal mines.

Full-year production was up to 14.6-million tonnes, up 41% on the previous corresponding period, following a June quarterly production of 4.8-million tonnes, up 66% on the previous corresponding period.

The Narrabri mine established several new production records during both the quarter and the full-year, Whitehaven told shareholders on Thursday, adding that the project had produced a record 321 000 t during the final week of June and 971 000 t for the month.

Full-year run-of-mine (RoM) production from Narrabri reached 7.7-million tonnes, while saleable coal production reached 7.1-million tonnes, exceeding company expectations. For the June quarter, saleable coal production reached 2.3-million tonnes, a 69% increase on the previous corresponding period.

At the Tarrawonga mine, RoM production exceeded budget for the full year, at 2.1-million tonnes, with the mine delivering 550 000 t during the June quarter.

The Rocglen mine also produced 848 000 t of saleable coal during the full year, while the Werris Creek mine produced 2.3-million tonnes of saleable coal during 2015.

The Maules Creek mine declared commercial production on July 1 this year, following an 18-month construction period. The mine was expected to contribute to Whitehaven’s financial results during the 2016 financial year.

Pre-commercial RoM production for the June quarter reached 1.4-million tonnes, with 2.6-million tonnes produced from Maules Creek during the full-year. Whitehaven noted that the annual production rate of six-million tonnes was achieved during the quarter ended June.

The next expansion phase, which would take the project to an annual output of 8.5-million tonnes, was planned to occur later this calendar year, as more mining equipment was introduced to the mine.

Commissioning of the coal handling and preparation plant also took place during the quarter ended June and plant throughput was in line with expectations, while yield and product quality exceeded expectations.