Altura says production at Delta coal mines falls by 35%
Thursday, April 30 2015 - 01:58 AM WIB
ASX-listed Altura Mining Limited said that production at its Delta coal mine in East Kalimantan in the March quarter of this year fell by more than 35 percent to 228,624 tons compared 354,2-6 tons in the corresponding quarter of last year.
?Production at Delta Coal during the 3 months to 31 March 2015 was below the previous quarter with monthly average coal production of 76,208 tons (monthly average December quarter 2014 of 120,106 tons). Production in the March quarter 2015 was also below the corresponding quarter in 2014,? the company said in a statement Thursday.
The reduction in coal production can partially be attributable to adverse weather conditions. However, a significant proportion of the result is from reduced equipment availability and productivities, Altura explained. ?These factors coupled with the required re-allocation of equipment to new mining areas in order to meet coal marketing requirements has produced a lower than forecast result.?
Delta Coal management are engaging with its contractors in order to sustain the required production level and cost. ?In order to assist with these items management have entered into an arrangement with the neighbouring tenement holder to allow for mining of coal right up to the western boundary of the Delta Coal tenement. The joint operation will require removal of the overburden on the adjacent tenement in order to access the coal up to the Delta Coal boundary,? Altura said.
The adjacent tenement holder will then be provided access to the continuation of the coal into their own tenement. ?These works will form an extension of the existing Pit 37 which is located in the north-west of the Delta Coal tenement and contains some of the thickest coal seams at the lowest strip ratio on site (see map overleaf).?
The company anticipates that this agreement will unlock for Delta Coal approximately 800,000 tons of coal at a strip ratio ranging between 8:1 and 9:1. The Delta Coal site team anticipate being in a position to commence mining the Pit 37 Extension area as early as May 2015, Altura said.
During the quarter the mine operations experienced 50 rainfall affected days for a total of 868 millimeters which is above the overall December quarter total rainfall (December quarter - 45 rainfall affected days for a total of 715 millimeters).
The March quarter average coal price received was US$38.83 (equated to FOB basis) per ton (marginal increase from US$37.56 in December 2014 quarter) for coal ranging from 4,400 kcal /kg to 4,800 kcal/kg (GAR), the company said.
Sales for the quarter were based on 45 percent of 4,800 kcal/kg and 55 percent of 4,400 kcal/kg products.
Delta Coal is currently mining five (5) separate pits within the concession; these are identified as Pit 21N, Pit 21S, Pit 37, Pit 38 and Pit 43. Operations in Pit 2N ceased during the quarter after exhausting all recoverable coal. The coals from these pits can vary in both quantity and quality which is taken into consideration by the mine according to their marketing requirements. Each of these pits can also operate under a different cost mechanism determined by a mix of strip ratio and waste haulage distance.
| March 2015 Quarter Tons | March 2014 Quarter Tons | 12 months to March 2015 Tons | |
| Saleable coal production (100% terms) | 228,624 | 354,206 | 155,758 |
| Coal sold (100% terms) | 54,903 | 321,873 | 1,252,854 |
| Saleable coal production (Altura 33⅓%) | 76,208 | 118,069 | 385,253 |
| Coal sold (Altura 33⅓%) share ) | 84,968 | 107,291 | 417,618 |
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak