CCC 0.00% 0.1¢ continental coal limited

production up 22%, page-4

  1. 5,656 Posts.
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    Oh the spin!!!!!!!

    20% up COMPARED to the Dec 2012 quarter when Pen produced was next to nothing. And.........

    Ferreira is done! Closed down so you can now take out 110,000 ton out of the 573,253t and add the cost of rehabilitation

    More problems at Pen. Stone rolls that are displacing the coal seam. Re planning.

    EDF has now been canned for a loan at 10%

    Free-on-Truck (FOT) costs for the quarter were ZAR154/t (US$14.00) which was 7%lower than the budgeted cost of ZAR166/t (US$15.10)

    Coal buy in. of 19,024.

    De Witt.

    The South African Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has informed the Company that they received an appeal in terms of Section 96 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resource Development Act (MPRDA) to the Mining Right that has been
    awarded for De Wittekrans. Section 96 of the MPRDA allows interested and affected parties to appeal against an approved mining right on various grounds and also sets out the appeal process. The appeal was lodged by the Federation
    for a Sustainable Environment on behalf of surface right owners over which area the mining right was granted.

    Oh dear. Anyone following NKP knows what this could mean in SA

    Botswana
    Blar blar!

    Not much to be happy about! Vlakvarkfontein the only one preforming and CCC % interest is not great at this mine.

    -------------

    COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

    Operations

    * ROM thermal coal production for the quarter of 573,253, a 22% increase on
    2012. Year to date ROM production of 1,199,439, an increase of 20% on 2012

    * Sales for the quarter of 461,918t, a 3% increase on 2012 with year to date
    sales 21% higher than 2012

    * 61% increase in export sales for the quarter on 2012 with year to date
    export sales 53% higher than 2012

    * Penumbra production expected to achieve design capacity in April 2014

    * Vlakvarkfontein on track to meet production and cost guidance

    Corporate

    * Execution of binding term sheet for $5 million bridge finance to provide
    near term working capital to allow for a broader recapitalization and
    restructure of the Company's financial arrangement's to be pursued

    * Board and management changes to be implemented subject to closing of the
    bridge funding arrangements


    1. OPERATIONS

    1.1 Health and Safety

    During the Quarter, four Dressing Station Case ("DSC") accidents were reported
    at the Company's mining and processing operations - all four DSC accidents were
    relatively minor incidents reported at the Penumbra Underground Mine with none
    reported at the Vlakvarkfontein Mine and Delta processing facility. Two
    reportable dam overflowing related incidents have also occurred at the Penumbra
    Underground Mine and processing facility during the quarter under review due to
    excessive rain. The incidents had no material impacts and their causes are
    being addressed.

    1.2 Operational performance



    Operational performance (tonnes)

    Quarter ended Quarter ended 6 months ended 6 months
    ended
    31 December 31 December 31 December
    2013 2012 2013 31 December
    2012

    Run of Mine (ROM)
    production

    Vlakvarkfontein 333,775 313,495 728,983 735,748

    Ferreira 110,707 152,280 247,129 258,037

    Penumbra 128,771 2,694 223,327 2,694

    Total ROM 573,253 468,469 1,199,439 996,479
    production

    Feed to plant

    Ferreira 116,436 161,605 269,670 323,253

    Penumbra 120,872 2,694 216,401 2,694

    Total feed to plant 237,308 164,299 486,071 325,947

    Export yields

    Ferreira 66.9% 66.2% 72.0% 68.0%

    Penumbra 58.2% 26.2% 55.4% 26.2%

    Export coal buy-in 19,024 - 20,953 -

    Domestic sales 304,676 351,264 712,624 647,659

    Export sales 157,242 97,939 320,696 209,750

    Total sales 461,918 449,203 1,033,320 857,409

    Total ROM coal production for the Quarter of 573,253t was achieved from the
    Vlakvarkfontein, Ferreira and Penumbra Coal Mines. Total ROM production
    increased by 22% from the comparable quarter in 2012 and increased by 20% for
    the 6 months ended 31 December 2012.

    Feed to the Delta Processing Operations for the Quarter of 237,308t represented
    a 44% increase to the comparable quarter in 2012 and also a 49% increase for
    the 6 months ended 31 December 2013.

    Ferreira achieved a 66.9% export yield for the quarter which was in line with
    the comparative quarter in 2012.

    Export yields at Penumbra have shown a steady increase during the past 6 months
    with the average yield of 58.2% recorded for the quarter. Contamination from
    sand stone rolls encountered at Penumbra had a negative impact on the
    production and export yield.

    1.3 Vlakvarkfontein Coal Mine

    Vlakvarkfontein Coal Mine produced 333,775t ROM for the Quarter, which was 6%
    higher than the comparable quarter in 2012 and on a year-to-date basis very
    similar to the production achieved for the 6 months ended 31 December 2012. ROM
    production for the 6 months ended 31 December 2013 however exceeded the budget
    of 692,250t by 5%. An average strip ratio of 2.13:1 was achieved for the
    Quarter (2.1:1 YTD).

    Total thermal coal sales during the Quarter from the Vlakvarkfontein Coal Mine
    were 304,676t and comprised 266,051t to Eskom and 38,625t of non-select coal.
    Sales for the 6 months ended 31 December 2013 of 579,432t to Eskom were 11%
    above budget with non-select coal sales of 133,192t being 52% below budget.

    Free-on-Truck (FOT) costs for the quarter were ZAR154/t (US$14.00) which was 7%
    lower than the budgeted cost of ZAR166/t (US$15.10) for the quarter.
    Free-on-Truck (FOT) costs for the 6 months ended 31 December 2013 were ZAR151/t
    (US$13.73) which was 2% lower than the budgeted cost of ZAR153/t (US$13.91) for
    the period.

    Vlakvarkfontein remains on target to achieve its planned production of 1.3 Mt
    ROM at a cost of ZAR152/t (US$13.82) for FY2014.

    1.4 Ferreira Coal Mine

    ROM coal production at the Ferreira Coal Mine for the Quarter, which was its
    last producing quarter, totaled 110,707t which was 76% above the budgeted ROM
    tonnes for the quarter. Ferreira produced a total of 247,129 ROM tonnes for the
    6 months ended 31 December 2013 exceeding the planned ROM tonnes for the period
    with 49,126t. An average strip ratio of 2.5:1 was achieved for the Quarter
    (3.1:1 YTD).

    Export yields for Ferreira averaged 66.9% during the quarter and 72.0% for the
    6 months ended 31 December 2013.

    Mining costs of ZAR147/t (US$13.36) ROM with Free-on-Board (FOB) costs of
    ZAR623/t (US$56.64) were recorded for the quarter. Mining cost for the 6 months
    ended 31 December 2013 were ZAR190/t (US$17.27) with FOB costs of ZAR641/t
    (US$58.27) which were a 3% improvement on the ZAR662/t (US$60.18) average FOB
    recorded for the 2013 financial year.

    Mining at Ferreira has now been terminated with only inventory clean-up to be
    completed. The Company is finalising the closure plan with all stakeholders and
    will commence the final rehabilitation of the mine site on approval of the
    closure plan by all stakeholders.

    1.5 Penumbra Coal Mine

    The commissioning of the permanent ventilation shaft in August 2013 was the
    last remaining infrastructure item required to reach the design capacity of
    63,000 tonnes per month. With adequate ventilation in place since early
    September 2013, both continuous miner sections were fully operational and able
    to be deployed in the planned mining outlay of 9 road production sections.
    Production rates increased to an average of 31,518t ROM per month during the
    quarter ended 30 September 2013 with 51,000t ROM produced in October 2013. The
    availability of the continuous miners during November 2013 had a negative
    impact on the production build-up towards steady state production of 63,000t
    ROM per month. The down-time of the continuous miners was caused by the
    malfunction of the control valve circuit which resulted in water contaminating
    the hydraulic oil. Operational management, together with the original equipment
    manufacturer (OEM) managed to resolve this during late November 2013. Stone
    rolls that are displacing the coal seam in the current mining area are also
    impacting on the production rate and the delivered yield due to added
    contamination. Management is currently reviewing the planned production lay-out
    and evaluating opportunities to amend the lay-out to mitigate the impact of the
    stone rolls on the production rate of the continuous miners.

    A drill-and-blast section was added to the two continuous miner sections during
    the quarter which will add additional flexibility to achieve and maintain the
    planned production rate. Each continuous miner section currently has two
    shuttle cars each with the third shuttle cars expected in February 2013,
    creating further flexibility for steady state production.

    ROM coal production at the Penumbra Coal Mine for the Quarter totaled 128,771t,
    a 36% increase on the previous quarter's ROM production of 94,556t. Production
    build-up at Penumbra is now forecast to achieve its design capacity of 63,000t
    ROM per month by April 2014.

    Export yields at Penumbra have shown a steady increase during the quarter with
    the average yield of 58.2% recorded, a 13% improvement on the previous
    quarter's yield of 51.5%. The yield is expected to improve to the planned 62%
    with the increase in production and the mitigation of the additional
    contamination caused by the stone rolls.

    Mining costs of ZAR158/t (US$14.36) ROM were similar to the costs achieved in
    the prior quarter with the FOB costs of ZAR676/t (US$61.45) recorded for the
    quarter, a 5% increase on the FOB costs of the previous quarter.

    Penumbra is forecasting the delivery of 570,000t ROM during the 2014 financial
    year at a FOB cost of R580 (US$53) per sales tonne.

    2. DEVELOPMENT PROJECT


    2.1 De Wittekrans Coal Project

    The Mining Right for De Wittekrans was granted in September 2013 and the
    Company expects the Integrated Water Use License (IWUL) to be granted in Q2
    2014. The South African Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has informed the
    Company that they received an appeal in terms of Section 96 of the Mineral and
    Petroleum Resource Development Act (MPRDA) to the Mining Right that has been
    awarded for De Wittekrans. Section 96 of the MPRDA allows interested and
    affected parties to appeal against an approved mining right on various grounds
    and also sets out the appeal process. The appeal was lodged by the Federation
    for a Sustainable Environment on behalf of surface right owners over which area
    the mining right was granted. They are appealing the process followed in
    application and awarding of the mining right as well as the ability of the
    proposed mining activity to comply with certain environmental and
    socio-economic requirements within the MPRDA and approved Environmental
    Management Program (EMPR). The Company, through its legal counsel, is
    responding to the appeal in terms of the process set out in Section 96 of the
    MPRDA. The IWUL application will continue while this appeal is being opposed.

    3. EXPLORATION PROJECTS

    3.1 Botswana Coal Projects

    Negotiations on the previously announced earn-in agreement on Prospecting
    licences 339/2008 and 341/2008 were terminated during the quarter. The Company
    is in early stage discussions with 2 unrelated parties to reach a commercial
    agreement on 2 of the Prospecting licences that have been awarded to the
    Company. The third license is in the process to be relinquished back. Further
    detail will be made available as progress is made in the negotiations.

    4. CORPORATE

    4.1 Bridge finance

    The Company has executed a binding term sheet with UK corporate advisory firm,
    Empire Equity Limited ("Empire Equity"), to provide $5 million ("Investment
    Amount") of limited recourse bridge funding. The funds raised will be applied
    towards general operating expenses and payments to creditors of the Company
    that do not otherwise agree to standstill agreements, allowing the Company to
    continue trading as a going concern while it continues to seek to undertake a
    broader recapitalisation and restructure of the Company and its financial
    arrangements.

    Subject to finalising definitive documentation, Empire Equity and/or its
    nominees (the "Investors") will invest in 7.5 million unsecured convertible
    promissory notes ("Notes") with a face value of A$1.00 at a discounted issue
    price of A$0.6667 per Note and with a maturity date of 4 months post closing.
    The Investors have also undertaken to assist the Company in undertaking a
    rights issue currently proposed to raise up to A$28 million at an offering
    price of A$0.01 per share (terms to be finally determined by the Company and
    the underwriter engaged), including procuring underwriting of the rights issue,
    with proceeds to be used to settle amounts owed by the Company to various
    existing convertible note holders and other major creditors. The Notes are only
    redeemable upon successful completion of the rights offer, being full
    subscription including underwriter subscriptions, upon which the Investors will
    have the option to redeem the Notes by either conversion into shares in the
    Company (subject to obtaining necessary shareholder approvals) at a conversion
    price equal to the rights offering price or request payment of the A$7.5
    million face value in cash. The Investors are also required to procure
    standstill agreements for 90 days from convertible note holders and other major
    creditors of the Company to allow for the completion of the rights offering or
    other recapitalization.

    The Investors will receive a 6% fee on the Investment Amount as well as 70
    million options, subject to shareholder approval, for providing the $5 million.
    Each option will be exercisable at the rights offering price with 3 years to
    expiry. In the event that shareholder approval is not obtained to deliver the
    options, $500,000 in cash will become payable to the Investors in lieu of the
    options. 100 million shares will also be issued to a settlement agent and held
    in escrow as collateral, either to be sold in the event of default with
    proceeds to be paid to the Investors, or if no default occurs, transferred to
    applicants under the rights issue.

    The Company is still seeking to finalise closing of the $5 million of bridge
    funding from Empire Equity. The Investors have advised that fund transfers have
    been initiated and the Company is awaiting confirmation from its escrow agent
    of the receipt of funds. The Company will further update the market as
    developments occur

    4.2 Secured debt

    The prepayment by EDF Trading of a Coal supply Agreement in 2011 has been
    restructured into a financial loan repayable through 24 monthly instalments
    commencing in July 2014. The loan bears interest at 10% per annum and interest
    will be capitalized until June 2014. Executing binding legal agreements for
    this restructure is dependent on the recapitalisation of the Company and EDF
    being provided a second ranking security over the Penumbra underground coal
    mine and its assets.

    The ABSA Project Finance facility secured over Penumbra Coal Mine is currently
    in default due to the shares of the Company being suspended on the ASX and AIM.
    ABSA is working with the Company during this recapitalisation process but has
    reserved all of their rights while the recapitalisation in under way.

    4.3 Proposed listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

    The proposed listing has been postponed until such time as the recapitalisation
    of the Company has been completed.

    4.4 Changes to the Board and Executive management

    A condition to providing the funding is the resignation or termination of the
    CEO, CFO and Non-Executive directors Mike Kilbride and Johan Bloemsma on
    closing. To join the Board on closing of the transaction and subject to any
    required regulatory approvals are:

    * Peter Landau, who is a former executive director of the Company, having
    resigned in May 2013. It is also noted that companies of which Mr Landau is
    a director or major shareholder are significant trade creditors or the
    Company, being owed approximately $2.8 million;

    * Paul D'Sylva, who is the Venture Partner of Empire Equity;

    * Mike Gibson, who is currently the CEO of Genet South Africa, a mineral
    resources and mining service company; and

    * a nominee from the creditors group.

    Further details on the proposed new directors, including information required
    under the AIM rules for companies, will be provided on or prior to their
    appointment.

    The management structure of the Company will be finalized after closing of the
    funding and further consideration by the new board.

    4.5 ASX and Aim share trading suspension

    The shares of the Company will remain suspended from trading on both the ASX
    and AIM markets. The reconstituted Board of Directors will consider a decision
    on seeking to lift the suspension of the shares following the closing of the
    transaction and pending the provision of further clarification of its financial
    position to the market
 
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