Member Info for penstock

pawnsacrifice, Bens have co-ownership of the Spur with MBU that joins with the main railroad track owned exclusively by Norfolk Southern. If it was a public railroad we would have CSX trains coming to us to use the fast flood loading bay rather than us trucking out to them. Would be great is NS agrees to offer track use to CSX for a fee. NS do have the trains, just not enough staff to drive them :/

The supply of trains is the only issue of concern.
Bens have exposed seams that are either being mined or ready to be mined.
They have a growing stockpile of washed coal.
They have demand for it.
They are trucking to another site to load into CSX trains.
The problem lies with Norfolk Southern being unable to meet demand for trains from not only Bens but also long established sites.
How that can be resolved is something I cannot answer. Once a consistent run of trains can join Bens' Spur (still part owned by MBU but soon will be 100% owned by BEN) then it will be full systems go to full production and that 960KT/year target.

LTH I haven't deleted anyone in the last week or so and even then it was only because they were telling me to shut up and sell up when I pointed out things are not great at the moment. You must have been in the Roast Ben Tgm group if you got booted. The snapshot on your twitter is from my group. I haven't booted you.
The big problem at the moment is lack of trains. Bens are producing plenty of coal but Norfolk Southern with their Ohio derailments (another at the weekend) and a huge staff shortage are impeding ability to provide the trains requested by Bens. Once they start supplying more trains then BEN can look at ramping up production to 80KT clean coal each month. In the meantime, trucking it to CSX is the only option.

Theres a few vacant spaces recently ;)
Just type PenstocksBensCreekGroup in Tgm. I only pop in there now if there is new news so I'll probably be in n out quite a bit this month... ;)

4xNS trains (44KT) but also sold 10KT via CSX train in January. Total 54KT.

I don't get why people are so upset. Had I said nothing you would all still be wondering if we got any trains and if the HWM had started mining. A month or so later you would have found out by RNS and moaned about being kept in the dark and why didn't I say anything if I knew already. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.
If you are a LTH then you no doubt realise the potential of BEN and that things will come good. Maybe even took advantage and topped up. If you don't believe in the Company then you probably shat the bed and sold. Adios.

My old Tgm group said social media has no effect on the sp. Well I proved them wrong, lol. Come on Ben, get a Twitter account ;) A good day for a tree shake. If you held and kept your cool then well done. Loading up the train tomorrow. And maybe some cheap shares at 19p?
Thing is I am just some random bloke on a keyboard. Why would you take what I say over an RNS? Because I tell it how it is, good or bad? But seriously, you should not base your decisions to buy or sell on what I say. I was the one saying we would be £1:50 last year, remember?
March is going to be a great month. Just telling you now so you don't ask me in April "why did you not say that earlier" ;)

OK leave you all alone to wait for official news updates in future. For anyone whom appreciated me sharing the news you are welcome. And for anyone who commented on ADVFN, have a laugh. That chatboard is a fun place to stir up school playground type bickering where anything posted can have a positive effect of getting people researching more about what they hold shares in or click baiting people to argue, lol. I like Adam really, just so easy to wind people up on that board. I like PATT too as he is fun. AIM is a game after all, have some fun and only gamble what you can afford to loose. OK so who is borrowing to top up before Luther sings tomorrow? lol {do not borrow! only joking}

Simple facts. When the train comes tomorrow to load up from that stockpile will you still be upset? Good day for loose hands to move on. GL LTH Keep The Faith It Will All Come Good.
Only 'speculation' I made was suggesting that the lack of trains was either NS clearing up after the mudslide at Coal-Mac or that they want to see a stockpile of coal before hedging a minimum 4 trains a month. Bens now have a huge stockpile. As for the delay on assembling the HWM, I 'guess' it is because they strip mined the bench floor and don't need to track in the HWM to mine the wall until the base seam of coal has been dug out. Were you upset when you found out months later that no trains had come in October? Well this time you found out early about February. At the risk of 'harm' I 'guess' we will get the trains and the HWM in next couple of weeks. Might get one choo choo-morrow ;)

Considering there has been no official news, today has been one heck of a tree shake. KTFIWACG ;)

Art I don't know what MBU paid. All I found was the FT article about Plutus PowerGen plc reverse takeover 2021 https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=1323-15013457-3JVQ9C3M5J7D9RNSKUMV46C2NG

If NS can't supply the trains then I would have thought there would be some sort of commission that says they have to sub-lease the length of track that joins the spur to another train provider such as CSX so their trains can come and use the fastflood chute. I have no info on that unfortunately. If not then it is a lot of trucks at an extra $20 /ton cost iirc :/
I think it is just a case of proving to NS that Bens can stockpile enough to fill a minimum 5 trains each month for them to hedge 4 and then slowly increase that as the 2nd HWM proves they can supply enough for 7-8. I think, I don't know.
Saw a photo of a large stockpile of black dollar bills, but until they leave in the train they are just rocks.
Just have to wait see what happens in couple of weeks..

There will be a logical reason for the delay.
Presumably the pitcoal mining by strip methods using dozers incurs no payment to Mega so they continue to do that until the seam has been exhausted on that bench and they need to bring the 77 in to mine the seam in the wall rather than beneath their feet.
And again, just a presumption, the trains got impacted by the Coal-Mac mudslide and other new bumps or they simply want to grow a stockpile to show off to NS to encourage them to hedge a minimum 4 trains a month from April onwards by which time the 77 will be assembled and mining.

So the extra 1 month delay means we lost out on a potential $4m profits or thereabouts which could have gone towards paying off loans etc, but we sold 10KT via CSX and have the stockpile of coal that would have been sold via NS and it still can be.
So guessing game now is do Bens sell 10KT, 54KT or 64KT in March?
Will the 77 be assembled by mid March?
Will it be in double shift and Bens be in full production by Easter?
Will the sp reflect what is to come or just be based on what has been done?
Really hope we get RNS to clarify the above presumptions right or wrong.

It did not come from the BoDs. I guess it will do though, by close of this day/month. For now you only have the info from me, a total stranger. I was saying it would be assembled this month and mining in March but that was just a hunch and I was clearly wrong.

The news is:
No NS trains came onsite in February. NS had a few derailments this month (not at Bens) that affected the schedule. Still trucking coal out to CSX trains. Got a huge black stockpile of washed coal waiting to be sold.
Still waiting on parts for the 77 so it has not been assembled yet. Not likely to make full production this month.

If you check the facebook group you can see a photo posted last year of the operations room of the washplant with the famous desk we all talked about needing a new surface at the time. It appears that they did resurface it in the video Luther posted. So that huge pile of coal must be waiting to be sold. As for trains, no news yet, but no doubt RNS next week will confirm shipments, status of HWM etc

Hopefully brings in a big yellow cutting machine soon with HWM300 written on the side rather than Flymo.

I have every confidence in getting a lush garden this year but the gardener did imply that we could start building tree houses last year.
Heads in the sand may have the definition you gave but many heads seem mute instead of shouting about what is to come like they did this time last year. Fireblade & Senta seem to be aloft and buzzed about how everything promised last year is on the cusp of happening in next few months and rightly so IMO. Get the picnic baskets ready for summer on the lawn!

Fireblade23, I love ya man/woman/? ;) 'bout time someone with enthusiasm realised the potential here based on what IS about to happen. 10p would be a 50% dividend! Metcoal at $310/t, 54KT shipped out last month, 2nd HWM due to nearly double production, all equipment owned and staff managed by BEN, washplant more efficient, seams taller with less spoil, NS and CSX trains hauling out coal (the latter involving trucks hauling out pitcoal literally dug up from the new benches and loaded into those 18 wheelers), full production and 6/7 trains by Eeeeeaster? Maybe June, lets say June. But minimum 4 trains a month news will see BEN in profit. Bring on the RNS next week, end of this short month s'il vous plait.
The LTH seem to have gotten bored with their heads in the sand. Next month comes epic news. If not then fk it am investing in Zimbabwe, lol.

Luther knows. Subscribe to his youtube channel to find out next week. Link is on the unofficial Ben's Creek facebook page.

JH, I totally agree. That RNS once again had timelines in it that have not been met. A follow up RNS should at least have been made to explain why rather than just informing us about the MBU sale. Shouldn't have to listen to me prattle on every day about my version of what is going on, lol. In addition to an update RNS they should post a photo/video of the 77 onsite being assembled like they did with the 71 on 24th November 2021 as that will corroborate what is being said.
https://benscreek.com/highwallminers.html That was the 71. We want same again but in yellow of the 77 please.

the washplant was 50% efficient, had new dryers and weighing belt stuff added to improve efficency. I was originally of the understanding that that alone improved it to 60% but even with the taller seam pulling out more coal and less waste rock we have been told it is 65% efficient. I've been told the pitcoal just gets tipped straight into the 18 wheeler trucks to be taken to CSX trains without washing. Presumably because the bench surface overburden has been cleared leaving them sat on top of the pure coal seam that they can just use their dozers to scoop up and into the trucks. Not seen a video of it at this site but have seen it done at other sites. Once they get to the bottom of the 50" seam they will have the bench for the HWM to sit on and push into the highwall to mine up to 1000ft deep. Will have to wait for Adam to confirm if that pitcoal has been depleted ready for the 77 to slowly roll in yet. meanwhile they have been blasting and clearing around the other side of the mountain and will be doing the same again with pitcoal there.
Mymissus checked the DEP site yesterday and posted permit updates in the Tgm group. They are for the renewal permits to mine underground at Tunnel No.2 and Patton No.7 and for the refuse site. Due in May but as one expired last month they will probably have an interim extension prior to that. We pull out equivalent of 10KT clean HiVolA from the underground continuous miners (CM) and mix it with the HiVolB from the 77HWM.
I have no new news from Gilbert. Just a case of waiting for an official RNS next month to confirm the 77 is onsite and presumably started mining if all pitcoal is cleared. And an update on volume of sold coal since September will be nice. Obvioulsy don't take my word for it, I'm just a random bloke behind a keyboard. The market need offical NOMAD approved RNS updates.