The company reached an agreement to sell 1.5 million tons of metallurgical coal for delivery, from April 2010 to early 2011, to Pacific Rim steel mills.
The sale was arranged through a third party, Xcoal.
"This transaction opens up new markets for our products, and also provides Patriot considerable upside in selling additional Panther coal in global metallurgical coal markets," Patriot chief executive officer Richard Whiting.
Whiting said with the sale, Patriot’s 2010 met coal shipments should now hit 7Mt, with nearly 2Mt coming from the Panther mine.
“This represents more than a 30 per cent in total met shipments over 2009 levels. Further, we expect to see additional opportunities for met coal sales to Asia as 2010 unfolds," he said.
Patriot holds 14 mining complexes in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin, and controls 1.8 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves.
