CORONADO, the operator of the Curragh coking coal mine in Queensland, has announced it has sold two shipments of its Buchanan coal to China as trade tensions eased between China and the US.
The Brisbane-based coal producer restarted shipments of its low-volatile Buchanan coking coal to China in November, concluding the deal for two cargoes in anticipation of a resolution to the China-US trade tensions.
Hailing the recent signing of Phase One of the China-US trade deal which includes US metallurgical coal exports, Coronado said there is now a clear export pathway to China for Buchanan coal which is mined in Virginia.
Buchanan mine realised coal sales of 0.8mt in the October-December 2019 quarter, down 21.7pc from 1mt in the preceding quarter period ended September 2019.
The company said it expects to achieve new sales opportunities as it continues to explore new marketing channels for its US coal by leveraging its existing global relationships.
Despite Curragh hitting record sales in the December 2019-ended quarter at 3.3mt, up from 3.1mt in the September-ended quarter, chief executive Gerry Spindler said import restrictions in China were a drag on the coal market.
“During the quarter, demand for seaborne metallurgical coal continued to be influenced by port restrictions on Australian coal imports into China,” he said.
“As a result, the metallurgical coal market remained range bound between US$130-140/t during the December quarter.”
Mining work gradually restarted at Curragh mine from January 17, one week after operations were temporarily shut down following a fatal accident to a contractor while he was changing a tyre in the mine’s main workshop.
