Operations Update

 

TIDMWTN 
 
RNS Number : 8158T 
Western Coal Corporation 
04 October 2010 
 

 
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|                                                 |     1000 - 885 Dunsmuir | 
|                                                 |                  Street | 
|                                                 |     Vancouver, B.C. V6C | 
|                                                 |                     1N5 | 
|                                                 |                   Phone | 
|                                                 |            604-608-2692 | 
|                                                 |   [e-mail]  | 
|                                                 |    www.westerncoal.com  | 
|                                                 |                         | 
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News ReleaseWTN 10-23 
 
 Western Coal Announces 90% Increase in Fiscal Q2-2011 Production and Increases 
                    Production Guidance for Fiscal Year 2011 
Vancouver, BC, October 4, 2010 - Western Coal Corp.  (TSX: WTN, WTN.WT and AIM: 
WTN)("Company" or "Western") announces an increase of approximately 90% in coal 
production to 1.5 million tonnes for its fiscal second quarter ended 2011 
(quarter ending September 30, 2010), compared with the quarter a year earlier. 
Western also increased its production guidance for the full fiscal year 2011 
(year ending March 31, 2011) to 6.1 million tonnes from the prior target of 6.0 
million tonnes. The revised target represents an increase of approximately 91% 
from the 3.2 million tonnes produced in fiscal 2010. 
Keith Calder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Coal Corp. said, 
"Producing 1.5 million tonnes in fiscal Q2-2011 represents a new quarterly 
record for Western.  Our strong performance so far, which will be further 
bolstered with the addition of new equipment just arriving at our mines, gives 
us confidence that we can achieve our new and higher volume target for the year, 
and that our delivery plan is working." 
Continued Mr. Calder, "We are especially fortunate because of the proximity of 
our British Columbia metallurgical coal mines to the northern port of Ridley 
Terminals in Prince Rupert, B.C. Ridley Terminals is the North American coal 
port closest to Asia and the only major coal port in the world with excess 
capacity. Our partners Ridley Terminals and CN Rail are helping us to satisfy 
the growing demand for our metallurgical coal products in Asia." 
  Western Coal Fiscal Second Quarter 2011 and First Half Fiscal 2011 Production 
+------------+---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
| Metric     |     Coal      |  Fiscal   | Fiscal  |   %    |    YTD    |    YTD    |   %    | 
| tonnes     |     type      |  Q2-2011  |Q2-2010  |change  |  Fiscal   |  Fiscal   |change  | 
| Operations |               |           |         |        |   2011    |   2010    |        | 
+------------+---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
| Canada     |     Hard      |   573,000 | 327,000 |  75%   | 1,060,000 |   686,000 |  55%   | 
|            |    coking     |           |         |        |           |           |        | 
+            +---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
|            |    Low-vol    |   457,000 | 173,000 |  164%  |   830,000 |   220,000 |  277%  | 
|            |      PCI      |           |         |        |           |           |        | 
+            +---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
|            |    Total      | 1,030,000 | 500,000 |  106%  | 1,890,000 |   906,000 |  109%  | 
+------------+---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
| US         |Metallurgical  |   205,000 |  93,000 |  120%  |   381,000 |    93,000 |  310%  | 
|            |               |           |         |        |           |           |        | 
+            +---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
|            |    Thermal    |   270,000 | 183,000 |  48%   |   468,000 |   183,000 |  156%  | 
+            +---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
|            |    Total      |   475,000 | 276,000 |  72%   |   849,000 |   276,000 |  208%  | 
+------------+---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
| Welsh      |  Anthracite   |    28,000 |  29,000 |  (4%)  |    62,000 |    29,000 |  114%  | 
+------------+---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
| Total      |               | 1,533,000 | 805,000 |  90%   | 2,801,000 | 1,211,000 |  131%  | 
| volume     |               |           |         |        |           |           |        | 
+------------+---------------+-----------+---------+--------+-----------+-----------+--------+ 
 
Note: 
·     Fiscal Q2-2011 Canadian Operations results include hard coking coal and 
low-volatile PCI coal produced at the recently restarted Willow Mine. 
·     US Operations and Welsh Operations were acquired July 14, 2009 and are 
only included in the Company's results from that point forward. 
 
About Western Coal 
Western Coal is a producer of high quality metallurgical coal from three mines 
in northeast British Columbia (Canada), high quality metallurgical coal and 
compliant thermal coal from four mines located in West Virginia (USA), and high 
quality anthracite and metallurgical coal in South Wales (UK). Other interests 
owned include a 24% interest in Mandalay Resources Corporation (MND: TSX), 40% 
interest in Xtract Energy (XTR: AIM), and a 20% interest in NEMI Northern Energy 
& Mining (NNE.A: TSX). The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada, 
and trades on the AIM and TSX stock exchanges under the symbol "WTN". More 
information can be found at www.westerncoal.com 
 
Forward-Looking Information 
This release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve risks and 
uncertainties.  Such statements relate to the Company's expectations, 
intentions, plans and beliefs.  As a result, actual future events or results 
could differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. 
Readers are referred to the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR.  Such risk 
factors include, but are not limited to changes in commodity prices; strengths 
of various economies; the effects of competition and pricing pressures; the 
oversupply of, or lack of demand for, the Company's products; currency and 
interest rate fluctuations; various events which could disrupt the Company's 
construction schedule or operations; the Company's ability to obtain additional 
funding on favourable terms, if at all; and the Company's ability to anticipate 
and manage the foregoing factors and risks.  Additionally, statements related to 
the quantity or magnitude of coal deposits are deemed to be forward-looking 
statements.  The reliability of such information is affected by, among other 
things, uncertainties involving geology of coal deposits; uncertainties of 
estimates of their size or composition; uncertainties of projections related to 
costs of production; the possibilities in delays in mining activities; changes 
in plans with respect to exploration, development projects or capital 
expenditures; and various other risks including those related to health, safety 
and environmental matters. 
 
 
For further information: 
 
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| Western Coal Corp.        | Buchanan               |                      | 
| David Jan                 | Communications         |                      | 
| Head of Investor          | Bobby Morse /          |                      | 
| Relations                 | Katharine Sutton       |                      | 
| [phone]           | [phone]    |                      | 
| [e-mail] | [e-mail] |                      | 
|                           |                        |                      | 
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This information is provided by RNS 
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange 
   END 
 
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