Certain information contained within this Announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR") as applied in the United Kingdom. Upon publication of this Announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.
5 May 2023
Bens Creek Group plc
("Bens Creek", the "Group" or the "Company")
Highwall miner update
Bens Creek Group plc (AIM:BEN), the owner of a metallurgical coal mine in North America supplying the steel industry, is delighted to confirm that, further to the Company's announcement of 23 March 2023, a second highwall miner ("HWM") has arrived, been assembled and has commenced operating.
HWM unit no 77 started arriving disassembled at the Company's site approximately 8 weeks ago. Initially there were issues with the infrastructure arriving in a timely manner and even once finally assembled, HWM 77's software and associated electronics were unable meet a satisfactory condition to begin operations. Despite strenuous efforts by Mega Highwall Mining LLC ("Mega HWM"), the Company's highwall mining contractor, it proved impossible to complete the necessary work as certain electrical components proved to be unobtainable. As such, following consultation between Mega HWM and Bens Creek, it was agreed that a replacement highwall miner was the only alternative.
Mega HWM quickly identified another available highwall miner, unit 81, which they moved to the Company's site on Monday, 1 May 2023. The machine was assembled and tested by Thursday, 4 May 2023 and will be fully operational today.
Adam Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Bens Creek, commented:
"While we are obviously disappointed that we wasted considerable time with a highwall miner which proved to be unusable, we are delighted at the speed with which Mega HWM have moved to correct the problem. We are now in the position to advance quickly to full production and deliver on our commitment to our shareholders."
For further information please contact:
| Bens Creek Group plc Adam Wilson, CEO Peter Shea, Chief of Staff
| +44 (0) 204 558 2300 | |
| Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) Nick Athanas / Nick Naylor / George Payne (Corporate Finance) Kelly Gardiner (Sales and Corporate Broking)
| +44 (0) 203 328 5656 | |
|
WH Ireland Limited (Joint Broker) Harry Ansell / Katy Mitchell |
+44 (0) 207 220 1666 | |
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