Arch’s Black Thunder mine significantly increased coal production in Q3’18

摘要

Arch Coal Inc. significantly increased thermal coal output from its BlackThunder mine in Wyoming despite warning earlier in the year that it woulddrastically trim production at the mine.The mine produced 19.4 million tons of coal in the third quarter, up 17.7%from reported second-quarter production of 16.5 million tons, according toU.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration data. Black Thunder producedabout 53.6 million tons of coal in the first three quarters of the year andwould exceed the lower boundary of a revised guidance range even if thefourth quarter were to be only half as productive as the third.On its first-quarter earnings call, Arch disclosed that it had slashedguidance for Black Thunder, the second-largest coal mine in the U.S.Uncertainty in coal burn forecasts, higher utility stockpiles and lower pricingfor competing fuels led the company to trim its guidance to between 62million and 68 million tons of coal in 2018, down from prior guidance ofabout 70 million to 80 million tons. Black Thunder averaged about 17.9million tons of coal production per quarter in 2017, well above the 14.4million tons Arch would need to produce from the mine in the fourth quarterto hit the top end of lowered revised guidance.