Keaton boosts 2013 thermal coal output

[miningmx.com] – LISTED coal junior, Keaton Energy Holdings, posted an
impressive 58% improvement in thermal coal production from its Vanggatfontein
Colliery, but said metallurgical production had fallen.

The company, which is now managed by part-founder Mandi Glad, said it had
delivered 1.5 million tonnes of washed 2- and 4-seam thermal coal to Eskom during
the year ended February from the colliery.

However, metallurgical coal sales more than halved to 65kt in line with the mine plan
which allowed for the depletion of its pit one, 5-seam coal. Spare capacity at the plant
at Vanggatfontein was used through third party processing.

Glad said the colliery had faced intermittant electricity supply from Eskom while there
was continued poor performance at the 2- and 4-seam plant during the year,
conditions exacerbated by the truck drivers’ strike in the middle of the year.

“Although FY13 (the 2013 financial year) presented Vanggatfontein with some
challenges, I believe that these have been or will be overcome in the short term and
I remain confident that this financial year will be a year of massive growth for this
long life operation,’ said Glad in commentary accompanying the published production
results.

As for the company’s Vaalkrantz colliery, an operation based in KwaZulu-Natal
province, Glad said output fell 7% to 351kt.

“The operation suffered from extremely difficult mining conditions in the West Alfred
section of the mine which limited production,” Keaton Energy said in its results.
“We are pleased with the performance at Vaalkrantz in the face of extremely
challenging geological conditions,’ said Glad.

“We are now in a period of optimising the operations, advancing our internal pipeline
of projects and aggressively pursuing acquisition opportunities where these offer value
uplift for our shareholders,’ she said.