Outlook positive as Yorkshire mines benefit Hargreaves

MINING group Hargreaves Services today said it expected its annual results to be in line with management expectations and that production had improved at its Maltby Colliery site.

The company introduced new working practices at Maltby near Rotherham in April and said that it had already seen an improvement in production consistency following the move.

It also said the “harvesting and delivery of pond fines” from Maltby had helped to compensate for the “previously inconsistent underground performance” at the site.

In a trading update, Hargreaves said it believed it likely that an incentive scheme will be launched at Yorkshire site Hatfield Colliery, which was recently sold by administrators at Powerfuel Mining to a new Dutch-registered holding company.

The colliery is being funded by ING Bank and will continue to be run by managers transferred across from Powerfuel Mining with support from Hargreaves, which will receive a fixed fee for an initial 12-month contract.

“Although we anticipate expending considerable efforts in the first few months, we are excited by the opportunities presented by this project,” the company said.
 
“The management contract will utilise all aspects of the group’s expertise and experience and we are in the process of negotiating an incentive scheme with ING Bank, the owners of Hatfield Colliery Limited, which is likely to involve the granting of equity to incentivise and reward Hargreaves for delivering on a number of key performance objectives.”

Hargreaves, which expects to announce its preliminary results in mid-September, also announced a coal contract to trade the first 800kt of coal from Hatfield Colliery.

It also said transport had performed in line with expectations.