Mining in the second longwall panel was completed in January and following the longwall change-out, production on panel three has now begun, Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn said.

“Longwall production in panel three commencing safely, on schedule and on budget, is positive news and, significantly, moves the mine into a one-change-out-per-annum mode of operation,” he said.

ROM coal production at Narrabri for the first half was 3.29 million tonnes, a record result for the company, with 193kt produced in a single week.

Saleable coal production for the first half was 2.91Mt.

On an annualised basis, production for the December quarter exceeded the nameplate capacity (6.0Mtpa) of the mine, a significant achievement for one that has been operating commercially for just eighteen months.

“Narrabri has reported strong performance with record production and sales for the half,” Flynn said.

“Whitehaven anticipates that the mine will be able to produce and sell about 850,000t of PCI coal in full-year 2014 with further upside possible in the future.”

During the second half of last year, a team of technical experts from Caterpillar resolved the remaining technical issues with the longwall and the shearer was successfully modified during the change-out to rectify roll back and bi-directional cutting started at the end of August.