Meanwhile, North American’s Q3 growth increased by $18.6 million year-on-year, primarily reflecting 2012’s Reed Minerals Inc. acquisition, as the company pursues new opportunities in Q4 2013 and in 2014. In particular, North American continues pursuing permitting for its Otter Creek reserve in North Dakota ahead of new mine construction.
Over the longer term, North American seeks to enhance unconsolidated mine earnings by 50% through 2018, through development and maturation of new mines and normal escalation of contractual compensation at existing mines.
North American Coal Co. additionally expects to develop new projects while expanding assets — including power generation prospects, coal-to-liquids, coal-to-chemicals, coal gasification, coal drying and other clean coal technologies. North American Coal is further pursuing non-coal mining, primarily in aggregates and international value-added mining services projects, especially in India.