Vale hits record coal production in Q2 2013
Brazilian mining major, Vale, achieved record coal production in Q2 2013, according to the company’s quarterly production report. The 2.4 million t of production came as the Carbrough Downs mine in Australia and Moatize mine in Mozambique ramped up operations.
Carbrough Downs, a pure play underground metallurgical coal mine, increased production by 20.5% on Q1 2013 and 719.6% on the same quarter last year, following a longwall move in January.
Meanwhile, Moatize in the Tete Province of Mozambique, benefitted from the end of the rainy seasin in Q1 2013, ramping up production to 1.3 million t for the quarter.
The increase in production was partially offset by drop in volumes from Integra Coal. Its underground mine experienced electrical issues with its longwall, while the opencast operation was affected by an ROM wall replacement that started on 1 June and lasted 27 days. During this period no ROM coal was fed to the coal preparation plant, resulting in almost zero production in June. Integra’s metallurgical coal production was down 9.3% and thermal production was down 77.8% on Q1.
Overall, Vale’s net profit dropped by 84% to US$ 424 million, down from over US$ 2 billion in the same quarter last year, after it recorded US$ 2.78 billion in foreign exchange losses. Underlying profit – which excludes these “non-cash” losses – was US$ 3.29 billion. “Profit came in below expectations but it's non-cash, I don't think the investor will look at this because the immediate impact doesn't affect Vale," Marcos Assumpção, metals and mining analyst with Banco Itau-BBA in São Paulo, told Reuters.
Edited from various sources by Jonathan Rowland
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/08082013/vale_achieves_record_coal_production_as_australia_coal_and_mozambique_coal_operations-ramp_up_coal_news_305/
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