The Greenbrier County operation is on the move as well, expecting to produce an average 50,000 tonnes monthly during the second half of the year – about half of the complex’s anticipated production capacity.

Xinergy president Bernie Mason said that the company was pleased to be putting the infrastructure online on time and on budget, especially considering the challenging market conditions for the premium mid-vol coking coal it produces.

“We will continue to focus on driving shareholder value by executing upon our strategic vision of building out our … coking coal footprint in West Virginia,” he said.

South Fork is the only mine in production by the Tennessee-headquartered producer, which went public in December 2009.

It completed the sale of its Straight Creek and Red Bird thermal mines in Kentucky in February to affiliates of JW Resources in a $US47.2 million deal as a strategic move to allow it to “focus on its strategy of building out a high-quality, metallurgical coal portfolio”