Guildford Coal has made the transition from explorer to miner following its first shipment of 6000 tonnes of coal.
The miner has sent the shipment from its Baruun Noyon Uul coking coal in South Gobi, Mongolia, to Baotou Iron & Steel in China.
Production at the Mongolian mine kicked off late last year, “and this significant milestone marks the final step to commercial production,” Guildford said in a company statement.
Following this initial shipment the miner has now lined up its next shipment of 20,000 tonnes for Jiuquan Iron & Steel, which is part of a wider 60,000 tonne contract to be completed over March and April.
Pre-payment has been made on both these shipments.
These company milestones come at a time when most coal miners are facing increasing uncertainty in the market, particularly as the major buyer China institutes new plans to reduce its reduce its consumption levels over the next five years, potentially building on the current oversupply issue affecting the market.