December 4, 2022 - North America-focussed metallurgical coal miner Bens Creek said in an update on Friday that from 26 October to the end of November, it produced a total of 43,736 clean tonnes.

The AIM-traded firm said that production came from the newly-permitted seam.

Despite closing for the Thanksgiving holiday, production in November was the highest monthly production to date, and exceeded its original peak annual production target at the time of its admission to AIM by 18%.

At the time of its admission in October last year, Bens Creek said it was aiming to reach peak annual production at 0.44 million tonnes in 2025, equating to 37,000 tonnes per month.

“For the first time we have produced 40,000 tonnes in a month,” said chief executive officer Adam Wilson.

“The past month has been a busy transitional period as we moved from mining contractors to an owner-operator model for earth removal.”

Wilson said that, armed with a “fully operational fleet” and the deployment of its second high-wall miner, the firm was looking forward to 2023 with confidence.

“We remain on track to meet our monthly production targets and achieve in excess of 70,000 clean tonnes per month.”

At 1238 GMT, shares in Bens Creek Group were up 1.55% at 24.63p.