Poland-based coking coal producer Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa SA (JSW) has announced its operational results for August this year. Despite operational challenges in the coal segment and unfavorable market developments, the company has met its production plan and exceeded production targets in the coke segment.
In August, JSW produced 1.01 million mt of coal, representing 84 percent of the monthly plan. The main reasons for the lower production include the effects of the endogenous fire at the Budryk Mine, which declared force majeure in May, the early termination of some longwalls, and difficult geological and mining conditions. In the January-August period, the company produced 8.44 million mt of coal, equal to 100.5 percent of the planned output.
The earlier increase in output through the accelerated commissioning of new longwalls and the incentive measures implemented as part of the Strategic Transformation Plan balanced lower production in August.
In the given month, JSW’s sold 1.18 million mt of coal, which is 95.3 percent of the monthly plan, while in the first eight months the coal sales target was exceeded by 0.5 percent, with 8.40 million mt of coal sales.
By far the best performance in August was recorded by the coke segment. The company’s coke production in the given month totaled 300,000 mt, 16.3 percent more than planned. In the January-August period, the company produced 2.01 million mt of coke (103.9 percent of the targeted output) and sold 1.98 million mt of coke (97.8 percent of the target). These results were made possible, among other things, by increasing production capacity utilization at JSW’s coking plants.