Lower metallurgical coal demand from post-quake Japan also impacted the company’s sales, while total run of mine production fell 19% year-on-year to 1.91Mt for the recent quarter as overburden was delayed over previous months.
At the key Coppabella mine, Macarthur is continuing to pump water out of the pits into storage dams.
Additional pump capacity and pipe infrastructure is being installed as part of battle preparations for the next wet season.
While Macarthur is at a low ebb due to the forces of nature, US coal giant Peabody Energy and steelmaker ArcelorMittal recently made a joint $A4.7 billion takeover offer for the Queensland coal producer.
Macarthur reiterated its previous advice to shareholders yesterday, recommending they take no action to the indicative bid.
The ramp up of the emerging Middlemount mine in Central Queensland from 1.8Mt per annum of raw coal to 5.4Mtpa is getting closer to environmental approval.
In what could be hard to achieve in New South Wales, the draft environmental impact statement received no comments from non-government organisations or the general public.
Macarthur anticipates that this ramp up will be approved by mid-2012.
Contractor NRW Holdings started overburden removal at the mine in April and first coal was mined last month.
About 51,000t of product from the new coal handling and processing plant was trucked, then railed and later exported from the site so potential customers could test bulk samples.
Construction of the rail spur is expected to be complete by late 2011, while a workshop and maintenance area is expected to be built by next month.
On the exploration front, ground conditions improved enough from the heavy rain to allow five rigs to drill targets in the Codrilla and Olive Downs South projects during the June quarter.
Macarthur said its June quarter coal contract prices have been settled for the September quarter.
The company did not reveal any prices but said they decreased in line with market settlements of metallurgical coal as demand from Japan fell and supply improved from Queensland.
On the carbon tax, Macarthur is expecting the government’s proposed $23/t rate will equate to $1.40 for each tonne of coal it produces based on fugitive methane emissions along with fuel and electricity use.
“Macarthur Coal had actively engaged policy makers to highlight the company’s position and voice concerns regarding the exclusion of coal as trade exposed and the inclusion of fugitive methane – not included in carbon schemes anywhere else in the world,” the company said.
“In order to manage the impacts of the carbon price, the company will continue to analyse, evaluate and report energy consumption and carbon emissions, investigate and implement cost effective energy efficiency opportunities, and explore prospects to manage methane emissions.”
Another bone of contention is the ongoing legal dispute over Macarthur’s deal to convert its $360 million to a holding company of MCG Resources and Fortrus Resources into 90% of the promising MDL 162 project, named after the mineral development licence.
The deal became complicated after a liquidator was appointed to MCG’s holding company, and Macarthur hopes that its legal proceedings will be resolved within the next few months but warned “it may take longer”.
The tenement holds 221.7 million tonnes of resources and Macarthur aims to develop an open cut mine with first production after 2014, to be ramped up to 6Mt per annum run of mine.
Macarthur shares are up 1c to $15.51 this morning.
