Western Coal Corp. announced Monday it had reached an increase of about 90 per cent in coal production to 1.5 million tonnes for the three months ending Sept. 30, 2010, compared with the quarter a year earlier.
"Producing 1.5 million tonnes . . . represents a new quarterly record for Western. Our strong performance so far, which will be further bolstered with the addition of new equipment just arriving at our mines, gives us confidence that we can achieve our new and higher volume target for the year, and that our delivery plan is working," said Keith Calder, resident and CEO of Western Coal Corp.
Calder singled out its proximity to Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert, the only major coal port in the world with excess capacity. "Our partners Ridley Terminals and CN Rail are helping us to satisfy the growing demand for our metallurgical coal products in Asia," said Calder.
Western Coal expects to produce 6.1 million tonnes of coal during its fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2011.
Western Coal had announced significant expansion plans for the fiscal year.
It's spending $260 million on new infrastructure and equipment for its operations in northeastern B.C. The majority of the money was spent restarting the Willow Creek mine and expanding the Brule mine.
Western Coal started work in the Tumbler Ridge area, 175 kilometres northeast of Prince George, five years ago in an effort to tap into a surge in world coal demand by taking advantage of already proven coal resources in northeastern B.C., using excess railway and port capacity at Prince Rupert. All the coal travels through Prince George.
