14 November 2008
BISICHI MINING PLC
Interim Management Statement
Bisichi Mining PLC ("Bisichi"), the UK Mining company with direct coal mining
operations in South Africa, is pleased to provide the following update about
its operations:
* Commercial operation of the Open Cast Coal Reserves of Black Wattle
Colliery ("Black Wattle") commenced in June 2008.
* Since the commencement of the Open Cast operation, monthly production at
Black Wattle has consistently averaged more than 120,000 metric tonnes per
month.
* Black Wattle has recently received bank financing for the expansion of its
washing plant.
* Black Wattle has locked in prices for its export product until the 3rd
Quarter of 2009.
* The weakening of international coal prices (which are priced in US dollars)
has, to an extent, been offset by the sharp devaluation of the South
African Rand. Despite coal prices coming off historical highs,
international prices for export coal presently remain strong due to high
demand and infrastructure constraints across the major coal basins.
* Demand for low phosphorous coal may be reduced in 2009 due to a weakening
in the fundamentals of the international ferrochrome market. If pricing
conditions for low phosphorous coal substantially deteriorate in 2009,
Black Wattle has the flexibility to supply this coal to its existing export
and domestic coal customers.
* In line with management expectations, trading profits and cash flow from
mining activities for the Second Half are expected to be strong.
* Income from Bisichi's UK properties remains steady, with no significant
change from the First Half.
* Management expects property valuations to be reduced in line with that of
the UK property industry. Gearing against property is very low.
Mr Andrew Heller, Managing Director of Bisichi said: "The Second Half of 2008
is shaping up to be a very strong period for Bisichi. Production has been
averaging above 120,000 metric tons per month, yields have improved, and we
have managed to fix our export prices earlier when the pricing environment was
more favourable. We will take advantage of opportunities which arise during
this volatile time and we look forward to the coming year with confidence."
END
For further information, please call:
Andrew Heller/Tom Kearney, Bisichi Mining PLC 020 7415 5030
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.