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Last Visited: 9/5/2008
Andrew Heller, Managing Director, noted some of the key achievements of 2007 as
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Reporting on mining activity in the first quarter, Mr Heller noted that production from Black Wattle was lower than anticipated due to planned maintenance on the Voest Alpine Continuous Miner and localised flooding in areas of active operation in the mine.Mr Heller reported that the overhaul of the Continuous Miner has been completed and that the machine is now operating at expected levels.
With regard to flooding, Mr Heller remarked that Black Wattle, as with any
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Mr Heller was pleased to report that, with the advent of the dry season (May - November), mine management was undertaking a number of initiatives to address the water issue over the long term.Meanwhile, production has returned to normal across all sections.While Mr Heller felt that the production decline would have an effect on half-year production figures, it would not have an impact on overall annual output.In addition, Mr Heller noted that one positive aspect of the surfeit of water on the mine was that the mine washing plant was not water-constrained (a problem with many mining operations in South Africa, where water is scarce) and the plant's operation could be enhanced and/ or expanded easily.
Mr Heller also updated the AGM on the status of the opencast operations at Black Wattle.He was pleased to report that, after an initial period of
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Mr Heller also noted that the opencast section was producing high-yielding export quality coal and that the operation of the opencast section should
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Closing the meeting, Mr Heller stated that, despite the small setbacks in the first quarter, Black Wattle had returned to full production in the second quarter.With coal prices at historical highs, Black Wattle back to full production, and full tonnage from opencast mining coming on stream in the