27 Jun 2008 15:15
Embargoed for release at 15.15, 27 June 2008
Atlantic Coal plc / Index: AIM / Epic: ATC / Sector: Mining
Atlantic Coal plc ('Atlantic Coal' or 'the Company')
Temporary Suspension
Atlantic Coal plc, the AIM listed open cast coal production and processing company, has requested a temporary suspension of trading pending the completion of its accounts for the year to 31 December 2007. This delay is due to the additional time required for the auditors to finalise the audit for its subsidiary Coal Contractors (1991) Inc for the period to 31 August 2007 which will provide the opening balance for the Company's accounts.
A further announcement will be made shortly once the date for completion of the accounts has been confirmed by the Company's auditors.
For further information, visit www.atlanticcoal.com or contact:
Stephen Best/Toby Howell/Greg Kuenzel Atlantic Coal plc Tel: 020 7182 1747
Rod Venables/Cecil Jordaan HB Corporate Tel: 020 7510 8600
Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477
Victoria Thomas St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477
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.