The first shipment left L&L’s DaXing wholesale division’s loading facilities at the ShinPingBa railroad station in the Guizhou province on May 14.

Under the Luk Fook deal, which L&L anticipates will lead to larger contracts, the producer will deliver coal to one of Luk Fook’s Guangxi province locations.

Just last month, the Seattle-headquartered company confirmed DaXing would provide 20,000 tons of thermal coal a month over a 12-month period to Datang’s Heshan power plant.

Officials said that initial shipment had been aggregated at ShinPingBa in preparation for a May 20 loading.

“I am very pleased with the speed we have been able to deliver coal to our new customers,” L&L chairman and chief executive officer Dickson Lee said.

“These new sales are a product of our improved logistics platform. I look forward to executing large coal sales this year, bringing significant new revenue from our DaXing subsidiary in the future.”

L&L announced in April that it had secured a 32,292sq.ft coal storage and rail loading space at ShinPingBa from Chengdu Railway Bureau.

The additional space, which has a capacity of about 50,000 tons, will aid in the streamlining of its wholesale platform and distribution network.

Officials said it would also play a significant role in its Datang deal.

“In a region where a large portion of the coal is still delivered by truck, having a rail access point is an important strategic advantage,” Lee said at the time.

L&L’s China-based activities have escalated in recent months. It acquired a majority stake in a Guizhou province anthracite complex last January and recently elected Chinese coal expert and Shenhua Group veteran Jingcai Yang to its board.

Also, earlier this month, the company confirmed it was seeking surface opportunities in Inner Mongolia and at the same time divested its Pin Yi underground operation in China’s Guizhou province.

The “underperforming” Ping Yi mine, one of five underground mines held by the company, will go back to its original owners.