31st Jul 2023 13:14
(Alliance News) - MC Mining Ltd on Monday reported lower coal production due to geological setbacks and the electricity crisis in South Africa.
The Western Australia-based coal miner in South Africa owns Uitkomst Colliery, an operating metallurgical and thermal coal mine, and Makhado project, an exploration and evaluation asset.
For the fourth quarter that ended June 30, run-of-mine coal production at the Uitkomst metallurgical and thermal coal mine dropped by 0.5% to 118,469 tonnes from 119,005 tonnes in the same quarter last year.
The mining group cited difficult geological conditions and electricity loadshedding, which interrupted operations at its colliery, as the main reasons for poor output.
Uitkomst recorded 53,489 tonnes of coal sales for the fourth quarter, up 57% from 34,126 tonnes.
MC Mining noted that benchmark API4 export thermal coal prices continued to decline, averaging USD115 per tonne in the fourth quarter compared to USD146 per tonne in the third quarter that ended March 31 and USD273 per tonne as at June 30, 2022.
Late last month, MC Mining said it was making "steady progress" with "critical" early works activities at its flagship Makhado coking coal project in Limpopo.
It revised Makhado life of mine up significantly by over 27%, with higher annual mine production rate up around 25%.
MC Mining also increased its proved and probable coal reserves estimates by about 53% to 106 million tonnes from 69 million tonnes.
Shares in MC Mining were flat at ZAR2.29 on Monday afternoon in Johannesburg. In London, the stock was also unchanged at 9.50 pence each.
By Artwell Dlamini, Alliance News reporter
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