Singapore (Platts)--2Sep2013/608 am EDT/1008 GMTSouth...

Singapore (Platts)--2Sep2013/608 am EDT/1008 GMT

South Africa-focused thermal coal producer Continental Coal Monday said its run of mine coal production in fiscal 2012-13 (July-June) rose 16% year-on-year to 2.2 million mt from 1.9 million mt the previous financial year.

The ASX-listed miner also reported a 3% increase in its domestic coal sales to 1.3 million mt, but a 22% decrease in export sales to 453,582 mt. Overall, the company's coal sales fell 5% year-on-year to 1.8 million mt.

"The decrease in export sales compared to 2012 is attributable to the absence of coal purchased from third parties as well as the decrease in production from Ferreira," said Continental Coal referring to one of its thermal coal mines in South Africa.

Production from the company's Vlakvarkfontein mine increased for the third consecutive year by 23% year-on-year and contributed 1.5 million mt to the total production figure. The mine exceeded planned production and also recorded free-on-truck costs of $14/mt, 6% lower than planned, compared with $13.10/mt in 2011-12, the report.
The miner also highlighted the Ferreira mine, where FOB costs of $66.20/mt were recorded, and the mine is expected to deplete its reserves by November 2013. The mine's run of mine production exceeded its budget for 2012-13 with costs 8% below budget and export coal yields at 70.4%.

The miner's latest thermal coal mine, Penumbra, achieved a total of 143,299 mt of coal production since opening in November 2012. The mine is expected to deliver 600,000 mt of RB1 6,000 kcal/kg thermal coal in 2014, at a FOB cost of $53/mt.

For the De Wittekrans project, the miner said it has a projected 30-year mine life, with an annual production of 3.6 million mt thermal coal a year after the initial build-up phase.

The decrease in global thermal coal prices and the impact of the devaluation of the South African rand against the the Australian and US dollars were priced into the company's net revenue, the miner said.