Utilizing the auger mining method at the Rosa mine site allows MCoal to extract the coal with minimal surface disturbance and limited environmental impact. Upon implementation of the second shift per day, MCoal expects a single auger machine to produce over 160,000 gross tons per year at the mine site, which after washing will yield approximately 135,000 cleaned saleable tons per year.
Once mined, MCoal’s metallurgical coal is being washed under contract at a nearby coal washing facility and initial production will be sold at a price of $150 per ton to a coking coal facility located approximately 43 miles from the Rosa coal mine in Birmingham, Alabama. This price is higher than the base price of $139/ton used in MCoal’s phase 1 Rosa mine economic analysis contained in a NI 43-101 report in March 2010.
Neil MacDonald, CEO of MCoal and president and CEO of Novadx, said: “We are very pleased with our progress at the Rosa coal mine. It has taken us 18 months since initiating the project to assemble the land package, permit and develop the mine site and now to begin production is very rewarding.
“We continue to assess new acquisition opportunities for MCoal and having the Rosa mine in production brings us a step closer to our plans to become a mid-tier, high-quality coal producer.”
