JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – As Keaton Energy’s flagship Vanggatfontein colliery, in Delmas, Mpumalanga, settled into steady-state production and continued its solid and consistent performance, while the Vaalkrantz colliery, in KwaZulu-Natal delivered an “outstanding” performance during the first quarter of the 2015 financial year.

The delivery of washed 2- and 4-seam thermal coal from the Vanggatfontein colliery to State-owned power utility Eskom during the quarter ended June 30, increased 17% to 617 324 t, while 5-seam metallurgical coal sales for the quarter increased 46% to 36 799 t, compared with output during the corresponding period the year before.

With the plant’s capacity fully used for its own coal, no toll washing took place at Vanggatfontein during the quarter.

The colliery produced 13 531 t of market development B-grade coal during the period under review, while discard and slurry sales fell 62% year-on-year to 100 201 t as the discard was currently being used to increase the height of the slurry dam wall.

“The dry and relatively holiday-free June and September quarters are traditionally the strongest production months for opencast coal producers and we met our production goals and cash targets. We are pleased with the colliery’s performance and look forward to enhancing it with the adjacent Moabsvelden operation,” said Keaton CEO Mandi Glad.

The coal miner was currently focused on the design work on the 1.4-million-ton-a-year Moabsvelden colliery, with plant construction set to start in November and conclude in September 2015.

The first run-of-mine coal, which was expected in August next year, would be temporarily processed at the Vanggatfontein colliery until the commissioning of the plant in November.

Meanwhile, production at Keaton’s Vaalkrantz colliery jumped 22% to 93 578 t during the June quarter, delivering an “outstanding” performance on the back of “significant” operational improvements and the success of the ongoing turnaround of the operation.

“Keaton Energy ended the quarter in a positive mood. Production profiles and cash generation met plan and safety improved. Expansion and optimisation projects are advancing to enhance our production footprint. We are well positioned for the coming years,” Glad commented.