Prior to publication, certain information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside information for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

4 October 2023

 

Bens Creek Group plc

("Bens Creek" or the "Company")

 

H1 Production Update

 

Bens Creek Group plc (AIM:BEN), the owner of a metallurgical coal mine in North America supplying the steel industry, is pleased to provide the following production update for the six month period to 30 September 2023.

 

Clean tons of metallurgical coal produced in the six month period to 30 September 2023 and the 6 month comparative period to 30 September 2022

 

 

Adam Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Bens Creek, commented:  

 

"We are delighted, as previously promised, to move to providing details of quarterly production numbers of clean coal.

 

In the period from 1 April to 30 September 2023, we produced approximately 205,000 tons of clean coal, which was a record six monthly production figure for the Company and up over 100% on the same period last year (six months to 30 September 2022: 99,928 tons). The production in the six months to 30 September 2023 is also equivalent to 75% of the clean coal produced by the Company in the financial year to 31 March 2023 (272,318 tons).

 

September 2023 itself was a new monthly production high for the Company with over 50,000 clean tons produced, despite only having the two Highwall Miners ("HWMs") in production, one of which was on double shift, for around half of the month. With the two HWMs being in full operation the Company anticipates that clean coal production in October 2023 will be higher than September 2023.

 

In July 2023 we also suffered a period with no HWM production following the previously reported mining incident which resulted in both HWMs being out of action for a short period. This resulted in clean coal production during July 2023 being 50% lower than August 2023 and July 2023 being the lowest production month in the six month period.

 

With both HWMs now in full operation the Company expects to be able to continue the growth in production into the next quarter. This increased production is further enhanced by the reduction of costs per ton from June 2023, and the recent rebound in the met coal price from its lows of $191 in August 2023 to $238 at the current time.

 

We remain optimistic for the future for the Company."

 

 

For further information please contact: