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CityWatcher, GCM is thermal coal in Bangladesh, used by power plants for energy. BEN is metcoal in USA used in the steel industry. So why the crossramp on BEN board?

Good idea Josh. . Need an RNS that reads similar to the Zimbabwe guys this morning:
"Bens Creek Group plc (AIM:BEN), the owner of a metallurgical coal mine in North America supplying the steel industry, is pleased to announce that an updated corporate presentation is now available on the Company's website www.benscreek.com". I assume they will wait until the benches are cleared , the 2nd HWM onsite, continuous mining ramped up, more trains taking washed coal and the Company re-valued by an independent appraiser first. Maybe we will get the presentation Q1 2023 by which time it is expected that BEN will be in full production.

In the meantime it would be great if the BoDs/contractors/suppliers would post up some recent pictures on social media (facebook & twitter and their own website) to show the stockpiled coal, benches being blasted, seams being opened up and Luther saying " We have had 4 trains leave this month" (if only).

Picax, I agree. Continuous mining is much cheaper than using HWM and BEN already own 5 continuous miners with 11 cars. Now BEN are owner operators it makes sense to implement those underground rigs. Guessing that the 3rd permit is being applied for so the other 3 buggies can be used on it. Hopefully DEP won't take too long to decide on it. I assume it is on the Star Ridge (2640acres) or MGC (1200 acres) sites. Would be nice to read that more trains are coming but maybe NS want to see that BEN can consistently produce enough coal to warrant a regular schedule of 3+ trains each month before committing the trains that other mining companies are vying for too. Continuous mining is much cheaper than using HWM and BEN already own 5 continuous miners with 11 cars. Now BEN are owner operators it makes sense to implement those underground rigs. Guessing that the 3rd permit is being applied for so the other 3 buggies can be used on it. Hopefully DEP won't take too long to decide on it. I assume it is on the Star Ridge (2640acres) or MGC (1200 acres) sites. Would be nice to read that more trains are coming but maybe NS want to see that BEN can consistently produce enough coal to warrant a regular schedule of 3+ trains each month before committing the trains that other mining companies are vying for too.
2023 will be epic!

Banzai, sorry phone auto correct mispelt your name

Bandai, fixation on wanting to know if/when BC get more trains is that as soon as there are more than 2 each month it is assured profits are being made. 2 trains each month clearly gets 24p, 4 trains should in effect get 50p+

Interims due to be released later this month from September 31st. News about benches and other HWMs I ain't fussed about. That will just be the gravy next year that assures both NS and investors that BC have the ability to consistently supply more than 40KT washed coal each month.

1:10 minutes in to interview Carl says thermal "will require more capital and different villagers to be moved". Hope the villagers are OK with that.

The biggest shareholder is on LinkedIn saying "Ben is on track to becoming the Titan" and the Ben facebook group.

Thanks for being in my corner but it is OK. I didn't think it could drop more after the last RNS/podcast but I was wrong by a hapenny. If you look at what BC had at 10p IPO and what they own now as a producing/growing mining Company then it maketh no sense to me why we are only just above double that IPO price now. Need to start selling more if indeed Ben is producing 40KT washed coal each month. It is all well and good buying yellow iron and leasing more land but news has to be that >22KT is being sold to get off this 20 odd pence bench.

We were 20p last November with 10,000 acres that needed clearing, a railroad and a washplant in need of repair and not even a HWM onsite. We are now mining with a HWM and 5 underground continuous miners with 11 shuttle cars, have a 60% efficiency 500Tphr working washplant, a certified rail spur (now owned by Ben rather than leased), 3840 more acres (MGC & Star Ridge), own all the big tonka trucks etc, 92.7mT reserves of which 33.6mT are recoverable leading to an increased LOM.
23.5p? Even without those extra trains the capital must be worth multiples if that, surely.
So I just put this down to Norfolk Southern needing to be pushed to send more trains so we all get paid.

Nope, jinxed it again. Until BEN ship more than 2 train loads each month there will be no impetus to invest irrespective of there being 40KT or 140KT coal going through the washplant. If it ain't being sold it is just a pile of black rocks. That said, am still holding and reserved to waiting till next year to make a profit on my 40p average unless Integrity send trucks in addition to the remaining 4 trains and the market price goes up this year.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the Company does not intend to raise any additional equity to fund the capex on the installation of coke batteries. This capital will be sourced from a combination of pre-payment of coke product via offtake, project level debt and the Company's own cash resources." As we have been saying. Coke ovens built by upfront offtake payments at discounted price for construction in 2023?

"The Company has received a number of requests for the regular delivery of thermal coal from a variety of international markets and is currently looking to finalise logistics to enable an export solution.......in the event the Company is successful in its current efforts to secure a rail transport solution rather than trucking to port" So via Maputo, Mozambique and not selling it to the local Chinese owned power plants in Zimbabwe?

At 6p. No surprises there. Ben did same at this point

"I'll never let go Jack, I'll never let go"
TO bid at £2...."See ya!" Lol

Bear, I don't think it will sink or even that it can sink any lower than 24p. Not with the mine site and all equipment in ownership worth a couple hundred mil let alone the revenue that will be forthcoming by the end of the year when BC is in full production. On the flip side, we should be selling more than 22KT a month (ie >2 train shipments). Doesn't matter if we extract equivalent of 40KT or even 80KT washed HiVilB with 2 HWM. If that coal is just sat on the ground then only Mega and staff get paid. Once we get more than 2 trains it indicates we are making profits and that will reflect in the sp.

I realise from talking to other mine site contractors that NS are having staffing issues since Covid and with just 2 trains we are at least meeting Integrity's Agreement for 22KT a month, but the big selling point of BEN last year was owning the rail infrastructure and a 500Tph washplant capable of processing 1mT of Ben's coal & also 1mT of 3rd party coal from nearby sites. I would hope NS in-house rail staffing issues can be sorted by Q1 so we can assure 3rd party mines that we can wash and ship coal for them whilst doing the same for coal extracted by Ben's 3x HWMs (2 on lease and 1 purchased outright) mining the 299 acre site. All the yellow iron is owned outright with staff working for BEN rather than a contract (JMAC) so that the wall can be blasted and cleared to create the benches & batter as and when required for the HWMs to keep mining and DEP's ESG requirements of backfilling and reseeding are met. Go long (IMO) with BEN as 'he' is growing and according to the BoDs is on track to become 'The Titan' next year.

Got nudged and pressed wrong button. Meant to say Acelormittal

Think you are right about other mines taking preference from NS for train shipments and just fulfilling that 22KT (2trains) per month amounts. The Admission Document does however say that NS would be delivering most of Ben's supply to a large North American steel producer (Zcelormittal

gotabesirius, you might be able to work a figure out from the https://www.benscreek.com/assets/annual-report2022/176105%20Bens%20Creek%20(CL).pdf although they only cover the period up to the end of March when BC were still trucking out RunOfMine coal.
The September 31st interims are due to be published by RNS next month. They will give a better indication of OPEX and also profits based on a current average of 2 train shipments per month (22KT total). Ben's contractor agreement with JMAC ends in November as all the 'yellow iron' has been purchased. Apparently that will reduce OPEX each month whilst also making surface site work more efficient, something that Murat Erden is very keen on.
The Offtake Agreement with Integrity was to supply them with 22K short tons per month January to December which is what those 2 trains each month are doing. Back in October 2021 when that deal was signed the market metcoal price was $305per metric tonne or $277 per short ton. The sales price calculated, subject to a volume discount, using a formula linked to the 20 day average price prior to assignment of the product to Integrity. Metcoal is currently trading at $254 per short ton. There are a few loans to pay, a defered tax bill and lease payments on the new & old equipment (although this should be cheaper than contracting it from JMAC). My guess is BC only breaking even with these 2 trains in this first year. Really do need Norfolk Southern to send more trains each month to create positive profits. Wonder how many trains the new Consol Itmann#5 mine down the road are getting? Very similar size and operation of a remediated mine. Hope they haven't pinched our trains.

I actually agree with most of that bigbadrob79.
1st HWM has moved from a 6 acre permit site to a 299 acre permit site. No doubt DEP will monitor the ESG as the new permit area gets mined and subsequently filled in and reseeded. At some point BC can then apply for further permit(s) for sections of the remaining 10K acres as we now know they can take close to a full year to be decided by WV govt.
Good to have it re-confirmed that Mega are renewing contract on the 1st HWM and will be supplying a 2nd HWM once benches have been blasted and cleared. They were blasting on Tuesday actually but am not sure how much blasting and overburden site clearance is required for each bench.
It is nice for an update but they are doing what they said they would and getting on with it despite that permit holding things up. It would obviously have been better if DEP had awarded the permit mid summer as Adam had optimistically hoped for.
The factors to get this sp heading north now are NS sending more trains (even 3 each month would add 50% value in theory), publication of the September interims (next month?), delivery/assembly/operation of 2nd HWM, increase in metcoal market price, confirmation that costs are lower and more efficient as an owner operator rather than contracting the surface operators, and maybe news that the purchased rig has been repaired and more continuous mining rigs to do the room & pillar stuff for HiVolA. All IMO. So just a case of waiting till next month for staggered news to give us the steps to climb up.

Check out Itmann#5 mine as a side by side comparison as they just sent their 1st train this month and they too are targeting 900KT per annum metcoal, although they are only using continuous whilst we use that type of mining and HWM rigs. Realistically, stick them away and pop back in December as not really much to see here right now. Everything they promised is happening and more albeit some 6-8 months later than envisaged. Sucks to be just 25.5p now but it is what it is. Follow the journey on Tgm and facebook as it will have a happy ending (not a Thai one, but a comfortable dividend making achievement).

picax, I agree with all you said although we also had 2 trains in June, so that train on Saturday was number 10.
12 trains had been booked to the end of the year at a fixed price iirc, so we have 2 more trains due in that agreement. As the market price for HiVolB slowly increases above $280pT we will be able to sell subsequent trains at a 20day average of spot price. At the mercy of Norfolk Southern Rail to send the amount of trains we need to clear the growing stockpile of washed coal. Best hold off on that 2nd HWM until we get >2 trains, each carrying away 11KT. The HWM and underground continuous miner are producing a combined 40KT washed coal each month, enough to fill at least 3 trains. Once the 2nd HWM is onsite we could fill 7 trains, but 3 would be a good start for now please Casey Jones.

After a period of forced blockade due to a union strike, South Africa’s railway and port operator Transnet SOC Ltd resumed operations. Almost two weeks of force majeure led to a significant backlog, but the commodity trade, including iron ore, coal and other raw materials, is finally unblocked. Good news for A-Z and CGO

Impressive bit of kit. 500Tphr. The washplant does 100Tphr. Gonna need another washplant and some more trucks, but surely with that potential output the local Chinese owned power & steel plants will change their mind and come buy the coal even if it is just ROM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGbVm3TMAqo