Australian miner New Hope on Monday reported flat production of saleable coal quarter-on-quarter, but said total coal sales were 7% higher on the prior period. Here are some remarks from the company’s second-quarter production report.
On coal markets:
“A mild winter in the Northern Hemisphere has resulted in soft demand, placing downward pressure on coal prices. High energy products have seen greater demand destruction compared to the API-5 price which has remained stable due to strong Chinese demand for lower energy coal supply. API-5 has created a floor for the gC NEWC and the expectation is that prices will stabilize at current levels.”
On Bengalla operation:
“Bengalla Mine has the capability to alternate production between gC NEWC and API-5 with relative ease and we continue to optimize production and sales based on the margin rank determined from the changing pricing indices.
Saleable production of 1.8 [million metric tons] for the quarter was 8% lower than the prior quarter primarily due to the plant shutdown. Coal sales for the quarter were 1.8 million tons, in-line with the prior quarter.”
On New Acland mine:
“Saleable coal production was 0.23 million tons for the quarter, compared to 0.06 million tons in the prior quarter. New Acland Mine’s first coal export since recommencing operations, a shipment of 11,000 tons, sailed in December 2023 and was followed by a 92,000-ton shipment in January 2024.
During the quarter, New Acland Mine has utilized spot rail capacity to deliver product to the port in addition to contracted volumes and will continue to source spot rail capacity where available.”
