Atlantic Coal soars on significant increase in coal reserve base

Atlantic Coal, the AIM-listed, US-focused anthracite coal mining company, has announced a 29 per cent increase in its clean coal reserve base to 1.78m tonnes from 1.38m tonnes, at the Stockton anthracite mine located near Hazleton, Pennsylvania. The company estimated that this would extend the life of the Stockton mine by approximately four years from 2020 to 2024 based on the 2012 production figure.Anthracite is a compact variety of mineral coal with the highest carbon content, fewest impurities and highest calorific content of all types of coal. It often has a black, silver or bronze hue. Steve Best, Managing Director of Atlantic Coal, said: "We are pleased to announce this significant increase in Stockton's reserve base and subsequent expected mine life extension." He added: "Stockton remains an important element of our strategy to become a major mid-tier anthracite producer. With an additional 400,000 tonnes after deduction of the 2012 production of 161,659 tonnes of high anthracite identified on site, and our recent acquisition of the Pott & Bannon site, I believe that we can look ahead with confidence over the coming months as we advance our production portfolio."Atlantic Coal's share price was up 20.69% to 0.18p at 10:06 on Tuesday.MF