Severe weather conditions have hit TerraCom’s sales forecast for the Blair Athol coal mine this financial year, with the company revising guidance down from 1.8Mt to 1.6Mt.
On the bright side, the company’s addition of a Hitachi EX3600-7 excavator to the Central Queensland coal operation last month resulted in improved productivity, helping offset the impact of excessive rain experienced at the site.
TerraCom said today that rainfall levels at the Blair Athol mine and across the entire supply chain this year were more than 1.5 times the 10-year average for the March quarter.
The Blair Athol team had focused on limiting the ongoing impact on operations, including through proactive in-pit water management, it said.
“The weather events during the March quarter have significantly impacted operations at BA (Blair Athol) and the supporting logistics network,” managing director Danny McCarthy said.
“Throughout January to March, rain was recorded on over one third of the 90 operating days, with associated wet weather impacts and recovery experienced over additional days following each event.
“This rainfall persisted into April with levels being recorded each day from March 24 to April 5.
“Despite the weather, our BA team remained resilient and over-achieved on productivity targets during the days of operation which were not impacted by the rain and recovery efforts.
“The addition of the new Hitachi EX3600-7 excavator in early March resulted in improved productivity, which assisted to offset the loss of production due to the excessive rain experienced at site.
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“The results achieved from the new machine have exceeded our expectations and provide significant confidence in the forward mine plan.
“All possible cost-effective measures to regain lost production by the end of the financial year are being explored and implemented.”
Mr McCarthy said the forecast mine plan for Blair Athol was solid, looking ahead, and TerraCom remained confident in its ability to deliver on the required coal sales in the June quarter.
“Also, the company continues to positively work with Wintime to finalise documents for the Moorlands project and will advise shareholders of the commercial aspects of the project once available, with no change expected in plans to have first coal from the operation in 2026,” he said.