Troubled coal producer Westar Mining (TSE) reported a loss of $9.3 million for the three months ended June 30, which pushes the company’s loss for the first six months of the year to $15.7 million.
Westar is currently operating under court protection from its creditors while it attempts to restructure its finances by a Sept. 30 deadline. The company noted that coal shipments in the second quarter dropped to 1.3 million tonnes, compared with shipments of 2 million tons in the second quarter of 1991.
Rrevenues for the quarter declined to $73.3 million from $111.6 million for the same period last year.
The drop in coal shipments was attributed primarily to the lockout of the Balmer mine on May 1, as well as a 140,000-tonne drop in production at the Greenhills operations because of what the company described as more difficult geological conditions encountered during the second quarter. Both mines are in southeastern British Columbia.
The company’s restructuring efforts were recently side-tracked with the resignation of six of its nine directors over their potential personal liability to cover shortfalls to employees.
Westar’s three remaining directors are seeking a court decision to rank employee severance and holiday pay ahead of all other creditors except suppliers.
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