Bens Creek reports strong upswing in coal production

4th Oct 2023 11:39

(Sharecast News) - North American metallurgical coal miner Bens Creek Group reported a substantial increase in production for the six months ended 30 September on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm's production figures showed a notable upswing, with a six-month total of 204,998 clean tons of metallurgical coal, compared to 99,928 tons in the same period a year earlier.

Month-by-month breakdowns showed that Bens Creek produced 27,681 tons in April, more than double the 13,065 tons produced in April 2022.

The growth pattern persisted throughout the remaining months, with September seeing the most dramatic increase - 50,100 tons, juxtaposed with 17,630 tons a year earlier.

"We are delighted, as previously promised, to move to providing details of quarterly production numbers of clean coal," said chief executive officer Adam Wilson.

"September itself was a new monthly production high for the company with over 50,000 clean tons produced, despite only having the two high wall miners (HWMs) in production, one of which was on double shift, for around half of the month.

"With the two HWMs being in full operation, the company anticipates that clean coal production in October will be higher than in September."

Wilson noted that in July, the company also suffered a period with no HWM production following the previously reported mining incident, which resulted in both HWMs being out of action for a short period.

"This resulted in clean coal production during July being 50% lower than August and July being the lowest production month in the six months.

"With both HWMs now in full operation, the company expects to be able to continue the growth in production into the next quarter."

Adam Wilson added that increased production was further enhanced by the reduction of costs per ton from June, as well as the recent rebound in the met coal price from its lows of $191 in August to $238 currently.

"We remain optimistic for the future for the company."

At 1338 BST, shares in Bens Creek Group were up 4.36% at 14.35p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.