Paringa Resources Ltd. continued to ramp up shipping of coal to customers during the September quarter, with approximately 136,000 tons of product barged from the company’s dock on the Green River, up from approximately 26,000 tons shipped during the June quarter.
September quarter coal sales equate to revenues of approximately $5.7 million for the quarter (US$23M on an annualized basis). The company said it expects a further increase in sales during the December quarter as the operations continue to ramp up.
Unit 1 mining activities continue to progress well, with continuous miner activities achieving about 85% of nameplate Mains productivity through the second half of September in the Mains areas of the mine.
The ramp up in Unit 1 productivity is largely attributable to operational efficiencies plus the cumulative benefits of alterations to coal cutting processes and mining unit support arrangements, according to Paringa. The company anticipates reaching full nameplate productivity through continuous improvements and an increase in available underground mining area over the coming months.
Unit 2 has successfully been relocated away from the previously encountered geological fault, and has recently recommenced regular operations, which will allow the unit to continue to ramp up production, the company said.
Paringa is now shipping coal to both of its major customers, and maintains a very strong pipeline of forward sales, with about 100% of 2019, about 75% of 2020 and about 50% of the next 5 years of production pre-sold.
In Paringa’s primary region of the Illinois Basin in western Kentucky, approximately 5.8 million tons of supply capacity has recently been consolidated by Alliance Resource Partners, who acquired and then closed the Pennyrile Mine with a 1.3-million-ton-capacity in September and closed the high-cost Dotiki mine with about a 4.5-million-ton capacity in August.
Paringa said it is now the only significant independent supplier of coal outside of Alliance and Murray Energy Corp.
