Prices were negotiated on a FOB west coast port equivalent basis.
Fording will be able to fully capitalize on the price rise through the expansion of its Elk Valley Coal metallurgical coal capacity by 12% - from 25 million tonnes to 28Mt by the 2005 third quarter.
Fording said it expected coal sales for the 2005 calendar year to exceed 27Mt, a two million tonne increase over our 2004 sales volumes.