(Sharecast News) - Coal mine owner Bens Creek revealed on Friday that chief executive Adam Wilson will step down from the role and said it had arranged a new loan with major shareholder Avani.

Bens Creek, which stated Wilson will leave once a replacement has been found, noted that Avani had provided it with $1.25m in the short-term and was in discussions about a further $5.0m working capital facility.

Additionally, talks with Avanti were said to be at an advanced stage regarding a non-exclusive off-take arrangement for the delivery of a total of approximately 400,000 short tons of coal commencing over the coming months.

The AIM-listed firm also pointed out that West Virginia had experienced extreme weather conditions early in the year, leading to a short period of unexpected interruption to production as a result of issues with waste disposal and refuse cells at the site.

Bens Creek stated that while the mine was now back in production, several trains scheduled to collect coal were delayed, leading to a substantial backlog of deliveries.

As of 0930 GMT, Bens Creek shares had slumped 28.36% to 5.91p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com