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Sales from the company's two Bowen Basin mining operations, Coppabella (Macarthur 50%) and Moorvale (77%), were both strong.
Coppabella sold just over 1Mt during the quarter while Moorvale added 147,900t.
Production at Coppabella was down compared to the September 2002 quarter with run of mine coal production dropping 11.5% to 1.24Mt and washed coal production falling 3.3% to 977,000t.
Macarthur said the mining contractor at Copabella had under-performed, causing the fall in production and forcing the company to rely on stockpiles and resumption of mining in the east pit by Leighton Contractors to meet shipping commitments.
The company said the transfer infrastructure corridor project at Coppabella remained on track with overburden removal of the South pit starting in August.
Macarthur will be able to access an additional 28.2Mt of coal reserves through the corridor project and first haulage of coal is expected once the company has removed the existing rail infrastructure.
As previously reported, Macarthur entered into an agreement to purchase all of the interest held by AMCI in Coppabella (30%) and Moorvale (13.8%) for a total of $42 million on settlement.
Macarthur shares were up 2 cents this morning, trading at $1.19 on the Australian Stock Exchange. MiningNews.net
