Pike River to get US$300 a tonne for coal from West Coast mine

Pike River Coal says it will get US$300 ($382) a tonne for the coal produced from its new mine on the West Coast.

The price the mine will sell its first coal production is up from around US$98 a tonne a year ago.

"We are pleased to sell our first coal at record prices which are in line with price settlements announced by Australia's major hard coking coal producers for their premium quality hard coking coal," Pike River chief executive Gordon Ward said.

Pike said the price for its premium hard coking coal had been settled with two Japanese steel mills and its Indian shareholders Gujarat NRE Coke and Saurashtra Fuels Private for the year to March 31, 2009. Ward said analysts were currently predicting a price in a range of US$270 to US$300 beyond that.

Pike is yet to start production. The owners expect to hit the coal seam in July but the mine will not be in full production until a year later.

Pike expects to produce about 200,000 tonnes in the year to June 2009.

Its Indian customers are expected to take 55 per cent of the mine's production.

Ultimately the mine expects to send 1.3 million tonnes a year of coal on rail to Christchurch for export.

- NZPA