Hargreaves Services, UK Coal No Longer In Merger Talks

10th Jun 2010 07:56

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Minerals and support services group Hargreaves Services PLC (HSP.LN) Thursday said it is no longer planning to pursue a merger proposal with coal producer UK Coal PLC (UKC.LN). The firms announced in May that they were in "very early" merger talks. UK Coal also said Thursday that its new coal seams at Kellingley and Thoresby are in full production and Daw Mill has completed its ramp-up of production. The firm said it expects to produce around 7.6 million tonnes of coal in 2010 in an improving pricing environment. UK Coal added that its plans to sell of a large part of its agricultural estate and to look at a joint-venture to develop part of its brownfield land portfolio are attracting significant interest. Hargreaves will be releasing its pre-close statement June 15. -By Rachael Gormley, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9308; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 10, 2010 02:56 ET (06:56 GMT)