UPDATE: Macarthur Coal Invests To Boost Production
16 Agosto 2011 - 6:54AM
Dow Jones News
Takeover target Macarthur Coal Ltd. (MCC.AU) said Tuesday that
it is pushing ahead with exploration to lift production beyond the
9.2 million metric tons of saleable coal a year it has targeted by
fiscal 2014, and plans to spend A$60 million in the year ahead.
The Australian company's exploration budget is a marked increase
from the A$53 million spent over the last five years and comes at a
time when its shareholders are weighing a A$4.7 billion takeover
bid from St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) and steel giant
ArcelorMittal (MT).
The bidders have said Macarthur has fallen short of its
production guidance for four of the past five years. Macarthur's
board has urged shareholders to take no action on the bid, and said
it was in ongoing discussions with other possible suitors.
Macarthur said in a statement that a number of undeveloped
exploration tenements are expected to contribute to rising output
beyond 2014, and it has contracts in place for environmental
studies to support the evaluation of eight projects. The company
has also launched an independent review of its portfolio to
identify additional exploration targets, it said.
The Queensland-based company, which sold 5.17 million tons of
its own coal in the year ended June 30, has applied to secure
additional port capacity at export terminals in the state.
Macarthur has estimated its coal reserves at 259 million tons
and its resources at 2.3 billion tons. Reserves indicate the amount
of metal or mineral it is technically possible to extract, while
resources are an estimate of the total metal or mineral potentially
available for mining.
Peabody and ArcelorMittal, which already has a 16% stake in
Macarthur, earlier this month submitted a cash bid at A$15.50 a
share after failing to negotiate an agreed deal.
-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; +61 3 9292 2094;
robb.stewart@dowjones.com
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