TIDMATC

RNS Number : 4379J

Atlantic Coal PLC

07 April 2015

Atlantic Coal plc ("Atlantic Coal")

Q1 2015 production and sales update

Stockton mine development update

Atlantic Coal, the AIM listed anthracite coal mining company operating in Pennsylvania, USA announces a positive production and sales update for the quarter ended 31 March 2015 together with an update on the development progress at its Stockton anthracite mine ("Stockton"), located near Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

Q1 2015 Key production and sales fundamentals:

   --    Clean coal production of 45,669 tons (Q1 2014: 34,451 tons);

-- Total coal sales of 44,356 tons including clean coal sales of 34,916 tons and run of mine (ROM) coal sales of 9,440 tons. (Q1 2014: 36,449 tons);

   --    Clean coal stockpile stood at 18,185 tons (Q1 2014: 1,396 tons); 
   --    Run of Mine ("ROM") production of 136,981 tons (Q1 2014: 86,614 tons); 
   --    ROM  stockpile stood at 59,939 tons (Q1 2014: 58,381 tons); 
   --    Bank cubic yards ("BCY") of overburden removed 1,082,028 (Q1 2014: 856,254 BCY); and 
   --    Wash recovery rate of 54% (2014: 39.7%).

Production Summary Q1 2015 (% change on Q1 2014):

 
 Overburden         Run of Mine Production   Clean Coal Production   Total Coal Sales 
  Removed (BCY)      (tons)                   (tons)                  (tons) 
 1,082,028 (+26%)   136,981 (+58%)           45,669 (+32%)           44,356 (+22%)

Stockton mine development update

The Company is pleased to report that in the current cut it is now mining almost solid coal in the 29 feet thick Mammoth seam. As is the case in most of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Coalfields the Mammoth coal the Company has been working up until now has been worked in the past by underground mining with approximately 35 to 40% of the coal remaining although the Company's experience on the current cut and study of old underground mine plans means that in future working areas the Directors expect that the Company will be working the Mammoth seam with higher levels of coal remaining. The Directors anticipate that this will have a positive effect on operational costs in that the working ratio (cubic yards of overburden excavated per ton of clean coal) will be reduced. It also has the effect of increasing the remaining reserves which have previously been assessed on the basis of only 36.5% of the original insitu coal remaining and, accordingly, the Company is commissioning a re-evaluation of the reserve base at Stockton. Further announcement will be made at the appropriate time.

The additional coal in the Mammoth seam means that the Company's ROM production and the coal content of the ROM have increased. Wash plant recovery levels are now around 54% as compared with 39.7% for 2014 which the Directors anticipate will increase the yield of clean coal from the washing plant with a consequent reduction in washing costs and an increase in clean coal production.

The increase in ROM production has enabled the Company to generate further significant revenue with sales of ROM coal. Over 9,000 tons of ROM coal was sold in March and the Company has secured contracts for the supply of substantial quantities of ROM throughout the rest of 2015.

Atlantic Coal's Managing Director, Steve Best, commented: "I am delighted to report an excellent first quarter performance in 2015. Despite another desperately cold winter in Pennsylvania we surpassed our Q1 2014 performance by some considerable margin and broke a number of production records with record quarterly ROM production and overburden removal figures and, had it not been for persistent sub-zero temperatures and the adverse effect on coal washing operations, we anticipate that we would also have achieved record clean coal production albeit this was still 32% up on Q1 2014.

"We are pleased to be able to report the positive developments in relation to the 29 feet thick Mammoth seam. Our overall sales volumes are good and I am pleased to report that the average price for Q1 was up slightly on Q4 2014 in what is a competitive market.

"The new Komatsu PC3000 hydraulic excavator is now operational and most of the new fleet of Komatsu plant we announced on 13 March is now on site and operational with the remainder expected before the end of April.

"The new mining equipment and improved mining conditions at Stockton means that we can look forward with confidence to the remainder of 2015.

"Finally, I am pleased to report that substantial progress is being made by our full time US based Chairman, Adam Wilson, in relation to management process and cost savings at Stockton and also establishing new investor interest in the potential acquisition of anthracite reserves, mining operations and washing plant capacity to achieve our objective of being a leading Pennsylvania anthracite producer and we will make further announcements on this at the appropriate time."

**ENDS**

For further information on the Company, visit: www.atlanticcoal.com or contact:

 
 Steve Best    Atlantic Coal plc         Tel: 0191 386 6392 
 Nick Naylor   Allenby Capital Limited   Tel: 020 3328 5656 
 Alex Price    Allenby Capital Limited   Tel: 020 3328 5656

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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