Western Coal Analyst Meetings Focus on Efficiency and Growth
VANCOUVER, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Western Coal Corp. (TSX: WTN, WTN.WT and AIM: WTN) ("Company" or "Western") today announced that it is currently hosting two days of analyst meetings and tours of its three British Columbia, Canada coal mines with a focus on recent and upcoming improvements to efficiency and production capacity.
Keith Calder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Coal Corp. states, "Western's investments in larger and more efficient mining equipment is delivering benefits in terms of increased productivity and a lower cost structure. Our objectives are to increase shareholder value and to ensure that customers consider Western a base-load supplier throughout the business cycle. As part of this strategy, we are phasing in new Company-owned equipment and phasing out the use of contractor fleets."
Capesize carriers load at Ridley Terminals
During the visit, management informed analysts that the first two Capesize bulk carrier ships, fully loaded with the company's coal, departed from Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert BC in the months of August and September 2010. The loading of these vessels is representative of Western's improved capability of delivering large volumes to Ridley Terminals.
Capesize ships, with a capacity of 170,000 tonnes or more, currently provide cost savings for Western's customers of approximately US$5 to US$10 per tonne for coal delivered to Asia, compared to 75,000-tonne Panamax size vessels that usually load at Ridley Terminals. The next Capesize ship scheduled to load the Company's coal is expected to arrive at Ridley Terminals in fiscal Q3-2011.
Capacity and efficiency programs
Other highlights from the BC mine tour include the following investments in capacity and efficiency:
- At the Wolverine mine, during the first half of the current fiscal
year, Western completed a program to increase truck and shovel
capacity to 2.0 million tonnes per year, up 43% from 1.4 million
tonnes per year before the program commenced. As part of the program,
Western brought into service a new shovel, a new loader, and six
Company-owned mining trucks with a capacity of approximately 220
tonnes each, replacing ten trucks with a capacity of 135 tonnes each.
Western ended the use of contractor equipment at Wolverine in 2009.
- At the Brule mine, during the second half of the current fiscal year,
Western is scheduled to complete a program to increase truck and
shovel capacity to 2.0 million tonnes per year, up 67% from
1.2 million tonnes per year before the program commenced. As part of
the program, Western is bringing into service six Company-owned
mining trucks with a capacity of 220 tonnes each, along with a new
Company-owned loader and two Company-owned shovels to supplement an
existing contractor fleet.
- At the newly commissioned Willow Creek mine, Western is scheduled to
complete a program to increase fleet equipment capacity to achieve
its target production of 1.7 million tonnes per year in fiscal 2012.
This will include seven Company-owned trucks, each with a capacity of
135 tonnes, to be redeployed from Wolverine.
- Between the Brule mine and Western's coal processing facilities at
the Willow Creek mine, the Company is building a 60-kilometer
connector road that will reduce Brule's coal hauling cost by
approximately 25%. On completion of the connector road in December
2010, Western will no longer be required to use a 100-kilometer route
from Brule to Willow Creek, reducing the travel distance by 40%. The
connector road will also improve safety by avoiding public highway
traffic. Western will deploy 16 purpose built off-highway haul
trucks, each with a capacity of 110 tonnes, to move coal from Brule
to Willow Creek. The new trucks will significantly improve
productivity when compared with the current fleet of 40 tonne haul
trucks.
- Although not part of the tour, management will also update analysts
on a fleet expansion program to increase equipment capacity at
Western's Maple underground mine in West Virginia by 33%. The Company
also intends to redeploy from British Columbia to West Virginia three
Company-owned trucks, each which with a capacity of 135 tonnes.
All presentations made at the analyst meetings will be available at http://www.westerncoal.com/investors/financial_information/.
About Western Coal
Western Coal is a producer of high quality metallurgical coal from three mines in northeast British Columbia (Canada), high quality metallurgical coal and compliant thermal coal from four mines located in West Virginia (USA), and high quality anthracite and metallurgical coal in South Wales (UK). Other interests owned include a 24% interest in Mandalay Resources Corporation (MND: TSX), 40% interest in Xtract Energy (XTR: AIM), and a 20% interest in NEMI Northern Energy & Mining (NNE.A: TSX). The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and trades on the AIM and TSX stock exchanges under the symbol "WTN". More information can be found at www.westerncoal.com
Forward-Looking Information
This release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements relate to the Company's expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs. As a result, actual future events or results could differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR. Such risk factors include, but are not limited to changes in commodity prices; strengths of various economies; the effects of competition and pricing pressures; the oversupply of, or lack of demand for, the Company's products; currency and interest rate fluctuations; various events which could disrupt the Company's construction schedule or operations; the Company's ability to obtain additional funding on favourable terms, if at all; and the Company's ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks. Additionally, statements related to the quantity or magnitude of coal deposits are deemed to be forward-looking statements. The reliability of such information is affected by, among other things, uncertainties involving geology of coal deposits; uncertainties of estimates of their size or composition; uncertainties of projections related to costs of production; the possibilities in delays in mining activities; changes in plans with respect to exploration, development projects or capital expenditures; and various other risks including those related to health, safety and environmental matters.
SOURCE Western Coal Corp.
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