The Ravensworth underground mine in the state had a longwall move during the recent quarter, while Xstrata also took control of the Liddell open cut operation which was previously operated by a contractor.

Xstrata said production volumes were positively impacted by the ramp-up of its Blakefield South longwall mine, but did not reveal the output figures.

The new mine is destined to replace the nearby Beltana operation which was a longwall production leader for several years and is heading to the end of its recoverable reserves.

Total Australian thermal coal output reached 18.5Mt in the recent quarter, down 4% year on year.

Australian semi-soft coking coal production reached 1.5Mt, down 12% year on year while coking coal production was 1.9Mt – 100,000 tonnes less than a year ago.

Xstrata’s thermal coal output in South Africa decreased 5% year on year to 5.3Mt, while its South American production decreased 7.7% year on year to 2.4Mt in the recent quarter.

Xstrata approved the development of the $US1.1 billion Ulan West longwall project in NSW in August, and said the cash costs of 18-year operation would be at the bottom of the second quartile of the industry cost curve.

The average free-on-board price for Xstrata’s coking coal reached $230.4 per tonne in the September quarter while its Australian thermal coal hit $89.2/t.