[Ferro-Alloys.com]US-Australian coal producer Coronado Coal will miss its already-reduced 2022 coking and thermal coal production guidance and may exceed its cost guidance because of heavy rain across the east coast of Australia.

 

Coronado will miss its target of 16.9mn-17.1mn t of coal in 2022, which it downgraded from 18mn-19mn t in October, citing double the average rainfall at its Curragh operations in Queensland in October-November. Coronado also warned that its cost guidance of $81-83/t for 2022 was also at risk because of the lower volumes. The firm hasraised its cost guidance twice this year from the $79-81/t that it released in July and the $69-71/t released in February.

 

Coronado was leftwith a target of at least 5.3mn t for October-December after it produced 4.1mn t of saleable coal in July-September, but has been unable to ramp up production because of heavy rain associated with the third La Nina event in a row. The La Nina pattern is expected to last until March 2023, with government commodity forecaster the Office the Chief Economist warning that heavy rain could continue to disrupt Australian coal exports beyond that as a result of slower oceanic cooling.

 

Coronado joins a number of mining firms in Australia that have cut production guidance this year.

 

Argus last assessed the hard mid-vol coking coal price at $212/t fob Australia on 19 December, down from $287/t on 28 October, but up from $166/t on 1 August. It assessed the high-grade 6,000 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal at $409.52/t fob Newcastle on 16 December, up from $376.22/t on 28 October, but down from a peak of $444.59/t on 9 September.argusmedia