Anthracite sales up y/y in 1Q16

Atlantic Carbon Group reported total anthracite sales of 64 348 t in 1Q16 compared to 44 356 t in 1Q15, mostly on the back of ROM coal sales. Clean coal sales were also up to 38 288 t despite adverse market conditions.

“Due to an unusually mild winter in northeastern USA, winter home heating sales were very poor in 4Q15,” the company. These market conditions have hit all producers of Pennsylvania anthracite with some aggressively lowering prices to gain ground in industrial markets.

“Our tactic has been to hold our ground as much as possible, focusing on saving money by reducing costs with the pit working four days rather than five and the [reducing] wash plant shifts,” Atlantic Coal said.

The company’s clean coal stockpile now stands at 25 217 t with 107 559 t in the ROM stockpile.

Atlantic Carbon owns the Stockton anthracite mine in Luzerne County in the Pennsylvania anthracite fields. The mine has proven reserves of 1.9 million t.

The UK-based company is not the only anthracite miner to reduce worker levels in order to save cuts. In late March, Blashcak Coal said it had laid off 27 of its full-time workers – although the company said at the time it would be a temporary layoff.

“It all related back to the very warm winter weather we had,” J. Greg Driscoll, Blashcak’s President and CEO, told local newspaper, the Republican Herald. As you know, anthracite is used quite extensively in home heating around the country. And that was pretty significantly impacted by this past winter.”

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/13052016/anthracite-sales-up-year-on-year-in-1q16-2016-773/