TORONTO,
April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Corsa
Coal Corp. (TSXV: CSO) ("Corsa" or the "Company") announces that it
has filed its Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial Statements
and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended
February 28, 2013 on SEDAR and has
posted these documents to its website www.corsacoal.com. References
in this press release to "Q1" means the three months ended
February 28, 2013 unless otherwise
noted.
Highlights
- Metallurgical Coal Sales
The Company sold 36,000 tons of clean metallurgical coal and 10,000
tons of raw metallurgical coal in Q1 and increased its 2013
metallurgical coal sales guidance to between approximately 300,000
to 320,000 tons. On April 2, 2013 the
Company announced entering into a sales arrangement with Hyundai
Steel.
- Mineral Reserves and Resources
On March 6, 2013, the Company filed a
new technical report to satisfy the requirements of National
Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") on www.sedar.com with respect to
the Acosta Deep Project, the Keyser Project and certain surface
mines and properties, and is entitled the "Wilson Creek Energy, LLC
Technical Report on Coal Resources and Reserves, Somerset-Cambria Coal Complex, Somerset-Cambria
Counties, Pennsylvania, USA,
December 1, 2012".
- Keyser Project
In December 2012, the Company
completed the purchase of the rights to mine the Lower Kittanning
coal seam under approximately 2,300 acres in the Jenner and Conemaugh Townships in Somerset County, Pennsylvania referred to as
the Keyser Project.
- Financing and Acquisition
On March 21, 2013, the Company
entered into a binding agreement with Quintana Kopper Glo Investment, LLC which, when
the transactions contemplated are fully completed, will result in
the Company having raised a total of $40
million and acquiring Kopper Glo, a Tennessee based coal producer, from Quintana
and Quintana having acquired a control position in Corsa.
Refer to the Condensed Interim Consolidated
Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis filed
for the details of the financial performance of the Company and the
matters referred to in this release including the technical reports
and independent qualified person.
Production
The Company's production of metallurgical coal
from operations was a total of 60,000 raw tons in Q1 of which
49,000 tons were from the Casselman Mine. The Company processed
56,000 raw tons of metallurgical coal in Q1 producing 38,000 clean
tons. The Company sold 36,000 clean tons of metallurgical
coal at an average realized price of $102 per ton and 10,000 raw tons of metallurgical
coal at an average realized price of $63 per ton in Q1.
The recently signed sales contracts were not in
place during the early part of Q1, and as a result, production of
coal was not at full capacity during the quarter as the Company
matches its production to its sales and delivery schedule.
First quarter sales were consistent with a very weak met coal
market. However, in spite of the low production, the Company
was very successful in its cost control achieving underground
mining costs at the Casselman Mine of US$46 per ton, down from the 2012 fiscal year
average of US$55 per ton. With
its fiscal 2013 guidance of 300,000 to 320,000 of metallurgical
coal sales, it has ramped up production significantly in order to
meet its delivery schedule for the balance of the year. With this
increased production at Casselman
the Company expects to achieve lower per ton mining costs as well
as reduced processing costs.
Outlook
While the metallurgical coal market, as
expected, continued to be weak into the first quarter of fiscal
2013, the Company has continued to be successful in achieving sales
as a result of the quality of its low volatile metallurgical coal
product. The Company's current guidance for fiscal 2013 is
metallurgical coal sales of between approximately 300,000 and
320,000 clean tons, of which 36,000 tons were sold in Q1 leaving
approximately 264,000 to 284,000 tons for the balance of the year.
The Company believes there are indications of an improving price
environment from that of the first quarter. In addition, the
Company currently expects metallurgical coal sales of between
45,000 and 60,000 clean tons in the first fiscal quarter of 2014.
This guidance is based on currently contracted sales which are
direct to both domestic and international steel producers. The
Company continues to actively market its high quality low volatile
metallurgical coal and match production to actual sales.
Update on the Quintana Transaction
A summary of the Quintana transaction (the
"Transaction") and of related documents is set out in Corsa's
material change report dated March 28,
2012, available on sedar.com.
In accordance with the requirements of the TSX
Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"), Corsa will be submitting for
review to the Exchange a Filing Statement in respect of the
Transaction. The Filing Statement requires the preparation of
a NI 43-101 compliant technical report on Kopper Glo's material
property and preparation of historical and pro forma financial
statements in accordance with requirements of Canadian Securities
Administrators. The Transaction is targeted to close in
July 2013.
Trading in the common shares of Corsa resumed on
the Exchange on April 11, 2013
following a normal course trading halt upon the initial
announcement of the Transaction.
Completion of the Transaction is subject to a
number of conditions, including Exchange acceptance and
disinterested shareholder approval. The Transaction cannot
close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There
can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as
proposed or at all.
Investors are cautioned that, except as
disclosed in the Filing Statement or Management Information
Circular to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any
information released or received with respect to the Transaction
may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied
upon. Trading in the securities of Corsa should be considered
highly speculative.
The Exchange has in no way passed upon the
merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor
disapproved the contents of this press release.
Information about Corsa
Corsa's main operating subsidiary is Wilson
Creek Energy LLC based in Somerset
County, Pennsylvania. Its primary business is the
mining, processing and selling of metallurgical coal, as well as
actively exploring, acquiring
and developing resource
properties consistent with its coal business.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information set forth in this press
release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking
information" under applicable securities laws. Except for
statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein
constitutes forward-looking statements which include management's
assessment of future plans and operations and are based on current
internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and
beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. Some of the
forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as
"estimates", "expects" "anticipates", "believes", "projects",
"plans", "outlook", "capacity" and similar expressions. These
statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue
reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking
statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual performance and
financial results in future periods to differ materially from any
projections of future performance or results expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to: risks that the actual production
or sales for the 2013 fiscal year will be less than projected
production or sales for these periods; risks that the prices for
coal sales will be less than projected or expected; liabilities
inherent in coal mine development and production including
restarting idled mines; risk that the required approvals for the
Transaction will not be obtained and that the Transaction will not
be completed; geological, mining and processing technical problems;
inability to obtain required mine licenses, mine permits and
regulatory approvals or renewals required in connection with the
mining and processing of coal; risks that the Company's coal
preparation plant will not operate at production capacity during
the relevant period, unexpected changes in coal quality and
specification; variations in the coal mine or coal preparation
plant recovery rates; dependence on third party coal transportation
systems; competition for, among other things, capital, acquisitions
of reserves, undeveloped lands and skilled personnel; incorrect
assessments of the value of acquisitions; changes in commodity
prices and exchange rates; changes in the regulations with respect
to the use, mining and processing of coal; changes in regulations
on refuse disposal; the effects of competition and pricing
pressures in the coal market; the oversupply of, or lack of demand
for, coal; inability of management to secure coal sales or third
party purchase contracts; currency and interest rate fluctuations;
various events which could disrupt operations and/or the
transportation of coal products, including labour stoppages and
severe weather conditions; the demand for and availability of rail,
port and other transportation services; the ability to purchase
third party coal for processing and delivery under purchase
agreements; and management's ability to anticipate and manage the
foregoing factors and risks. The forward-looking statements and
information contained in this press release are based on certain
assumptions regarding, among other things, future prices for coal;
future currency and exchange rates; the Company's ability to
generate sufficient cash flow from operations and access capital
markets to meet its future obligations; the regulatory framework
representing royalties, taxes and environmental matters where the
Company conducts business; coal production levels; and the
Company's ability to retain qualified staff and equipment in a
cost-efficient manner to meet its demand. There can be no assurance
that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company
does not undertake to update any of the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release unless required by law. The
statements as to the Company's capacity to produce coal are no
assurance that it will achieve these levels of production or that
it will be able to achieve these sales levels.
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither
approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
SOURCE Corsa Coal Corp.