American Resources Corporation announced it is restarting production at its Carnegie 1 mine under its previously stated, expanded production plan. The Carnegie 1 mine, located in Pike County, Kentucky and within the Lower Alma coal seam, produces High Vol A/B metallurgical coal.
American Resources commenced initial development production at Carnegie 1 in the spring of 2017 to confirm the appropriate mining style and equipment that would be most productive and efficient. The initial results verified the potential of significantly expanding the mine for long-term, stable production.
American Resources has invested the necessary capital to acquire additional equipment and infrastructure, and to further develop and restructure the Carnegie 1 mine to significantly expand its output, revenue, margin, and cash flow, and to complete Phase 1 of its three-phase plan. The three phases are as follows:
Phase 1 (Complete): Production infrastructure has been redeveloped and expanded to operate a walking super section (which utilizes two continuous miners versus the typical one continuous miner) during two production shifts with an additional supportive maintenance shift. The first continuous miner has been delivered and is producing coal this week. The second continuous miner is currently having proximity detection safety technology installed and will be delivered to the mine shortly post-completion. Initial production range is anticipated to be approximately 14,000 to 20,000 clean tons per month with both continuous miners producing.
Phase 2 (June - July): Production will be expanded from a walking super section to a full super section. Production range is expected to be approximately 18,000 to 22,000 clean tons per month.
Phase 3 (Oct - Nov): Production will again be expanded to operate two separate sections: one being a full super section and the other a walking super section, with two production shifts and one maintenance shift. Initial production range is expected to be approximately 32,000 to 42,000 clean tons per month.
Once fully implemented, American Resources expects the Carnegie 1 mine to contribute an estimated $3.45 million in monthly revenue and an annual revenue run rate of approximately $41 million. Additionally, the Company will continue to develop a series of metallurgical coal mines within the same permit as the Carnegie 1 mine which include underground mines in both the Lower Alma and Upper Alma coal seams, which are the Carnegie 2 and Carnegie 3 mines.