Beacon Hill Resources issues updates on coking coal mine expansion

Australian coking coal producer Beacon Hill Resources has announced its interim results for 2013, reporting a net loss of $19.24 million, narrowing down from the net loss of $45.13 million in the previous year. The company's revenues increased by 122.2 percent year on year to $2.4 million.
 
According to Beacon Hill's statement, the company's wholly owned subsidiary Minas Moatize Limitada (MML) increased production capacity 300 percent to 1.8 million mt per year with the successful commissioning of the Phase 2A washplant and with the production of the first export grade coking coal and thermal coal. In 2013, the run of mine coal production was 108,181 mt, while the saleable coal production from the Phase 2A washplant stood at 40,926 mt.
 
The company said that the production was increased in the third quarter of 2013 to cater for the increased processing capacity at the washplant however the board decided to suspend operations in mid-November 2013 due to record-low coking coal prices and the delay in the delivery of rolling stock for export operations.
 
Beacon Hill said that with coking coal prices in the first quarter of the current year falling further, the board does not anticipate any meaningful recovery in demand or price until 2015. With this in mind, and due to the late delivery of the rolling stock, the Board took the decision to delay the ramp up of Minas Moatize mine and delay export operations until the washplant upgrade project is completed in the first half of 2015.