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Thu, November 1, 2012 CanAm Q3 Coal Sales More Than Double Q2 and 68% Over Prior Year
November 01, 2012 07:30 ET
CanAm Q3 Coal Sales More Than Double Q2 and 68% Over Prior Year
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Nov. 1, 2012) - CanAm Coal Corp. (TSX VENTURE:COE), (OTCQX:COECF) ("CanAm" or the "Company") is pleased to report coal production and sales for the third quarter ending September 30, 2012. Consolidated Q3 2012 coal sales were 158,000 tons, more than double Q2 coal sales of 77,000 tons and a 68% increase over Q3 in the prior year. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2012, consolidated coal sales were 302,000 tons, a 46% increase over the prior year. Q3 coal production was 167,400 tons, including 21,300 tons of metallurgical coal.
| Three Month Period | Nine Month Period | ||||
| Ended | Ended | ||||
| Sept 30 | Oct 31 | Sept 30 | Oct 31 | ||
| 2012 | 2011* | 2012 | 2011* | ||
| Metallurgical coal | 15,443 | 13,175 | 47,014 | 43,203 | |
| Thermal coal | 142,457 | 81,086 | 254,615 | 163,166 | |
| Total | 157,900 | 94,261 | 301,629 | 206,369 | |
*The comparative period is to October 31, 2011 as the Company formerly had a January year-end.
Note: CanAm holds 80% ownership in Birmingham Coal & Coke (BCC) following its acquisition of an additional 30% interest, effective July 1, 2012. As at that date, CanAm began consolidating the financial results of BCC in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and, accordingly the above information is presented on a consolidated basis and includes 100% of BCC's sales and production volumes.
The significant increase in both sales and production is attributable to an increase in the Company's ownership in BCC, which was effective July 1, 2012 and an improvement in production at all of our four operating mines. Management and operational changes executed in the first half of the year at the Powhatan mine paid off and coal sales at that mine set an all-time high of 33,332 tons. Operational challenges at the BCC mines, mainly resulting from an incident in Q1 that damaged an excavator at the Gooden Creek mine, were ironed out and sales from BCC's operations were 124,568 tons, the highest level since Q1 of 2008. Sales of metallurgical coal were up 16% from the prior year but slightly down from Q2 as shipments were somewhat hampered by inconsistency in coal quality.
Looking forward to our Q4 and beyond, the Company is expecting continued growth in production and sales as it brings on production from newly permitted mines. The Old Union 2 mine, which received final permitting in late August, started operations in early October and permits for the Knight and Posey Mill 2 mine are expected in the near term.
Jos De Smedt, President and COO of CanAm, commented: "CanAm achieved significant production and sales growth in Q3. The majority of this growth came from our acquisition of 30% of BCC but important operating improvements also positively impacted results. We look forward to building on this momentum with production from our new Old Union 2 mine starting in October. We are also in the final permitting stages for our Knight and Posey Mill 2 mines. Upon receipt of these permits, mining can commence within a short period of time. We look forward to building on our momentum in Q4 and into 2013".
The Company will release full third quarter financial results in late November 2012.
About CanAm Coal Corp.
CanAm is a coal producer and development company focused on growth through the acquisition, exploration and development of coal resources and resource-related technologies. CanAm's main activities and assets include its four operating coal mines in Alabama and the Buick Coal Project which holds significant coal resources, 188 million indicated and 103 million inferred resources, in Colorado, USA (see the technical report entitled "Limon Lignite Project, Elbert County, Colorado, USA," dated October 26, 2007 and filed on SEDAR on November 2, 2007). Other coal and related opportunities continue to be evaluated on an ongoing basis.
Forward-Looking Information and Statements
This news release may contain certain forward-looking information. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, is forward-looking information and such information involves various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in the Company's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at [ www.sedar.com ]. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
