Missouri, US-based coal producer Patriot Coal Corporation on March 16 announced that it has reached an agreement to sell approximately 1.5 million mt of metallurgical coal for delivery beginning in April 2010 through early 2011 to steel mills in Asian countries on the Pacific Rim.
According to the company press release, the coal will be sourced primarily from the company's Panther and Winchester mines and the sale was arranged through a third party, Xcoal, which has an extensive presence in the Asian markets.
Patriot CEO Richard M. Whiting said, "With this sale, we now expect our 2010 met coal shipments will be more than 7 million mt. This represents more than a 30 percent increase in total met shipments over 2009 levels."