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My understanding of it is that Norfolk Southern have a bigger demand for trains than they have drivers/trains available so preference goes to mines with proven, consistent output. With the stockpile and current 43KT clean output of washed coal per month there is enough for 4 trains. The pitcoal mined from the surface after blasting/clearing to make benches is loaded direct to trucks and taken to load on available CSX trains. AFAIK Bens filled 2xNS and 1xCSX train in December. Unfortunately NS have exclusive use of the track that joins to Bens' Spur so only NS can make use of Bens' fast flood facilities. IF we get that 4th train from NS this month that Adam said was booked in the recent podcast then it will show confidence from NS that Bens is able to supply 44KT a month (4 trains). They will be further reassured once the 77HWM is onsite and assembled in February to increase production (66KT or 77KT/month by Easter?). As soon as the pitcoal is depleted Mega can take over to mine deeper into the seam.
To take a non biased view, the concern in Easter will be "Can NS send 6 or 7 trains a month or will it need to be trucked at higher costs to CSX?" Bens are pretty much at the mercy of the train company(ies).

"will have had 4xNS trains (44KT) and 1xCSX train (10KT) by the end of this month (total 54KT". Not the end of the month just yet JH. Adam booked 4 trains for January (not including the CSX train that is taken the pitcoal)

PRATT on ADVFN been proven wrong yet again, this time about how many trains we are getting. Now he wants to question where is the 2nd HWM. I already addressed this. Shame he doesn't read or watch video proof. The pit coal is mined by Ben's own equipment and operators and loaded straight into the 18 wheelers to be hauled to the CSX train loading site. The exposed seam is so large that after clearing blast overburden to form the HWM benches the coal can be taken out and loaded without need to wash it and without need of a mining rig yet. No fees to pay Mega on that Wildcat mountain yet until a HWM is needed to go deeper into the seam.
In the meantime Mega are sending the 77HWM sections to be assembled on the new bench to commence mining next month. No point having it there until we need it.
Once the 77 is onsite and it has done a full month of double shift mining Bens will be producing 77KT clean coal. IF we get 6 or even 7 trains a month by Easter then job done, Bens will be in full production.
All we need now is for a large investor to buy a huge chunk of shares. A rise to $300/t HiVolB price will help too.

yep, will have had 4 xNS trains (44KT) and 1xCSX train (10KT) by the end of this month (total 54KT) as we said a few weeks ago and recently confirmed by good old Luther's selfie video (has been shared on the unofficial Bens Creek #Ben facebook group).

If you are not invested yet and want to do some research before considering doing so (always advisable) then there is plenty of it in the Telegram group(s). Just use the search magnifying glass feature in those group(s) to search for keywords such as trains/HWM/dividends etc or view the pinned items. As always DYOR and maybe let the Tgm group provide some of it for you ;)
*************PenstocksBensCreekGroup

As the benches and batter are created by blasting, clearing, loading and hauling, the coal seams are exposed permitting strip mining methods to extract pit coal that may need to be run through a washplant prior to being sold. With a tall/wide seam the ROM pit coal might be sold as clean with very little waste amongst it. Once the benches are wide enough the HWM can come in and take over. Pit coal extraction does not incur Mega royalties :)

Manager, Albert Grimmett, said in this video: "Mining in this area producing the pit coal. After that pitcoal is removed we will be bringing the HighWallMiner in and begin highwallmining in this area." So we have coal coming from the double shift 71HWM, coal coming from the underground continuous miner and we have clean pitcoal from the bench prep strip mining . Enough for 5 trains (4xNS and the rest trucked to CSX)? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK1EQnbZu0g

this one has audio commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdtAyDuuPo0&t=9s

Be sure to check out the new youtube page that shows videos of operations at Bens Creek including drone footage of the whole site. Links are on the facebook group.

I've just put the same link on the unofficial Bens Creek facebook page. Try that

Type +N83m547W2XE1ZWY0 into your Telegram search

Thanks. We have a photo of the assembled 77HWM in the Tgm group. It is now in sections awaiting transport to BC although the cab was despatched already.
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Just want to say big thank you to Pedros for walking me through some of the WHI broker financial report in the Tgm group last night. Last year the podcasts were suggesting that the OPEX costs of Mega/Jmac etc were costing $115. It seems now that we are owner operators and the Mega contract renewed at more favorable rates to BEN that those costs are between $69-81 now. Well done Adam & Murat.
86p nailed on once the 2nd HWM is assembled and in double shift putting BEN into full production. Easter? Even if it takes till summer it makes a triple bag from today's sp. Thanks to Josh for taking time out to run the numbers to confirm that target based on just 4 trains, £1.20 with 6 trains and £1.38 with 7. Of course it all hinges on sentiment too so stop selling! Lol. As always DYOR...or join Tgm and let the group do it for you ;)
And never take advise from a fraudster whom lies on ADVFN denying things are happening despite the proof being there that it is. Bring on the 77HWM that PATT denies and some visual evidence beit RNS, photos or video of the assembled rig and trucks & trains being loaded. Oh wait we already have videos of the trucks that PATT denies are being loaded. The bloke is a laughing stock.

yes and a few sceptics are wanting the '4 trains a month' and 'trucked shipments to CSX' mentioned by Adam in the recent podcast and on the chatboards by me, to be put in writing (RNS). I assume that will be done in a RNS with news that the 77HWM has been assembled. The same HWM that numbnuts on ADVFN has been denying even existed. Once investors have that RNS then he surely has to log off, eat that humble pie and realise he has been exposed as a fake news spreading, dishonest, blatant deramper of no credibility. An idiot!
Anyway, back to BEN. I reckon the sp will drop a bit more tomorrow, so watch your stop losses. It has to. Everything is lined up to do well at Bens Creek in next few weeks so it only makes sense that people sell and drop the sp like they usually do, lol. I don't understand it, but that seems to be what happens here. I won't be buying, got far too many already. Like watching a lava lamp. Very surreal.

yeh, seems that way. it should have had opposite effect. Ah well, fasten seatbelt and hope for a bounce

Nice try JohnHenry but you are late to the party. They tried all that guff here and on ADVFN last year. Ignore that old FUD JH, it has no credibility here. The CEO has done well both for himself and for the BEN Company, so fair play to him. Much to the detriment of sentimentality here, he was a tad overoptimistic last year, expecting everything that is happening now to have happened sooner, but we are here now with more than we ever had, sadly not the sp though.

Bens Creek Group did IPO in October 2021 to raise funds to remediate the disused minesite and all it's equipment, washplant and rail spur. That is all done, BEN have even bought all their own Komatsu yellow iron, hired operators to create a more efficient model than hiring JMAC contractors. Have acquired extra land leases, mining permits, started underground mining and most recently have ramped up HWM to double shifts on the new permit area with a 50" seam. 4 trainloads of coal being hauled out each month now. The huge sections of the 77HWM are arriving onsite from Ashland, Kentucky to be assembled on the wildcat #6 mountain to, in effect, almost double overall production to near 80KT clean coal per month thanks to those tall seams, more efficient washplant and a crew of drivers under BEN's management.

By Easter BEN will be in full production with 2 highwall miners (71 & 77) and the continuous miners underground. More permits for underground mining are pending, due 4th May. BEN have a fully functioning fast flood loadout facility to load Norfolk Southern trains onsite. As NS have exclusive use of the tracks joining up with BEN spur other train shipments are being hauled to High Ridge for loading on CSX trains when NS are unable to provide enough to cope with the amount of coal that BEN are extracting. Next month BEN might be doing 55KT clean coal, but come Easter we expect full production of near 80KT, equivalent of 7 full train loads and a bit to spare. Should be in enough positive profits by eoy that the CEO, Adam Wilson, can announce dividends.
The only logical reason behind the low sp is the large volume of shares not being bought and that itself is illogical

If worse case scenario we were to only ship 4 trains each month as we are now, March 2023-2024, then using the WHI broker's DCF template and current Platts coal price:

44KTx12monthsx$260/t = $137.3m gross revenue;
$19.2m realisation charges;
$118m net revenue;
$32.7m operating cost;
$3.2m royalty;
$101.4mEBITDA;
$2.3m depreciation;
$99.1m EBIT;
$27.25m tax;
$71.85m Operating profit;
$2.3m add back depreciation;
$3.8m capex;
$70.35m cashflow.
That is my calculation for 4 trains/month and based on coal at $288/metric ton (=$260/short ton).
If we ship 6 trains by summer and the coal price increases then obviously all those calculations increase to the benefit of investors & BEN.
I must stress I am a photographer, not an accountant, so DYOR, but to me the figures look right and on the basis of that and a PE of 4 (don't ask me what a PE is as I already got into trouble for forgetting to pack my lad's football shoes for school) I am going out on a limb to suggest a sp valuation at 88p:
mcap = (EBITDA x PE) = 101.4m x 4 = $405.6m
sp = mcap/total amount of shares = $405.6m/375m = $1.08 = 88p

When BEN ramp up production with the 2nd HWM onsite the operational costs will be proportionately less, the shipments will increase to around 66-77KT/month and hopefully the market price continues to rise too. Add in the award of dividends once in $37.5m positive profit and we have the £1.50 sp, albeit a year later than I thought last year.

Anyway, before we chase 6 trains, £1.50 & dividends, let's enjoy the fact that BEN are shipping 44KT HiVolB each month now and be dumfounded as to why the sp is just 25% of it's real value (88p)!

Without coming across as being too rampy I want to give you the figures they have as a forecast for 2024 based on 822KT coal sold (avg 68.5KT per month) if coal is $285/t
Gross Revenue: $234.1m
Realisation Charges: $32.9m (I just googled realisation and it seems to be sold coal that hasn't been paid for yet)
Net revenue: $201.3m
Operating Profit: $94.3m

They used $300/t for 2023 as Adam was very astute to fix that price with Integrity for the trains last year despite the drop in market price last fall. The prices this calendar are steadily rising in small increments to match or even exceed the broker forecast for 23-24.

The broker report just puts that $82.8m gross revenue figure based on $300/t coal price but it does put a $11m realisation charge. Like I said, I am no accountant and have no idea what a realisation charge is. Is that the difference of spot and paid amount to give a $71.8m net revenue? That still puts the OP as $35.6m

I am no accountant, I got an O at Maths A-Level many years ago :( Got an HND in Photography though so let me put you in the picture..
According to the WHI broker report if we sold 23KT clean coal a month (2 trains and an extra sack of 1KT) that makes 276KT sold in a year.
If the coal price paid is $300/t BEN make $82.8m gross revenue, $35.6m operating profit (43%)
Coal price is currently $261/short ton and shipping 44KT a month so let you do the math
By Easter hoping to ship 66KT a month and that HiVolB market prices are nearer 300.
By eoy shipping 77KT a month, hope you have fresh batteries in your calculator ;)

...that is with just 1 HWM (71). With the 2nd HWM (77) and 2 or more extra trains the first year debts can be cleared by the end of summer, all costs paid and BEN will be in positive profits which make dividends a real possibility this year.

With 6 trainloads sold each month every $1 rise in the metcoal price adds $0.8m to the annual revenue. The market p0rice for HiVolB just went up $5, so that potentially adds $4m to the annual coffers or 1p towards the dividends ;)