ATC Music Group plc Regulatory News (ATC)

14 Aug 2008 10:45



Atlantic Coal plc / Index: AIM / Epic: ATC / Sector: Mining

14th August 2008

Atlantic Coal plc ('Atlantic Coal' or 'the Company')

Results of AGM 

Atlantic Coal plc, the AIM listed open cast coal production and processing company, held its AGM today and all resolutions were duly passed. At the meeting CEO Steve Best made the following statement:

"Atlantic Coal's primary asset is the Stockton Colliery in the Pennsylvania anthracite fields which has defined reserves in excess of 4 million tonnes. We have a fully working, bonded and equipped opencast anthracite mine with an adjacent washing plant capable of washing 300,000 tonnes per annum on a single shift. 

"Production at the southern face has been prevented due to the positioning of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad, so it gives me great pleasure to announce that detailed discussions with regard to the track re-location have progressed very well and we expect the line to be moved in the near future.  Indeed, in anticipation of this, we have already begun works on the revised location which will open up the southern face to mining.  With this open, our production levels, stripping ratios and resulting revenues will increase, which will have a significant impact on our financial performance.

"I believe we have a fine asset at Stockton and with the relocation of the track we will enter the next stage of our development. We are also in an area that has exciting expansion potential which is something the Board is actively looking into. I would like to thank shareholders for their patience whilst we finalise the track re-location and I look forward to a bright future for the Company."

* * ENDS * *

For further information, visit www.atlanticcoal.com or contact:

About the Company:

Atlantic Coal owns and operates the Stockton Colliery which comprises an opencast anthracite mine and an adjacent anthracite washing plant. The mine is an established non-union surface mine encompassing circa 900 land acres in the Hazle Creek Valley, Pennsylvania and has an estimated proven reserve of 4 million tonnes.  Mining of raw coal is from the high quality mammoth seam, while washing and sizing takes place in the 150 tonne per hour coal preparation plant.  J T Boyd Company, the Company's Competent Person, estimated that there is over 10 years of mine life from existing reserves at an average production rate of 400,000 Run of Mine ('ROM') tonnes per annum.  Based on historic production levels, the mine is capable of and is projected to produce approximately 450,000 ROM tonnes of coal per year.  Mining operations are conducted by the use of hydraulic excavators. Uncovered raw coal is then loaded into 100 tonne trucks for delivery to the onsite preparation plant. As each section of the mine is developed, mining progresses from the northern and southern faces into the basin. This yields a constant flow of raw coal to the preparation plant.