(EnergyAsia, September 11 2013, Wednesday) — Buoyed by a 32% surge in hard coking coal sales, Mongolian Mining Corp (MMC) said its first half revenue rose 6.4% year-on-year to US$247.8 million.

The Hong Kong-listed company, which did not reveal its profit or loss in a statement, said it sold 3.1 million metric tonnes of hard coking coal for the first half of 2013, including 2.2 million mt of washed coal which accounted for 87.3% of total revenue. Last year, it reported a US$2.5 million net loss.

MMC said its sale of higher-priced washed coal surged 72.1% as it has been shifting away from delivering lower quality unwashed coal. It received an average price of US$98.7 per tonne for its washed coking coal, down sharply from US$138.7 for the same period last year.

Citing data issued by Mongolia’s National Statistical Office, the company said it now accounts for 42% of the country’s total coal exports. As Mongolia’s largest producer and exporter of high-quality hard coking coal, it owns and operates an open-pit mine at the Ukhaa Khudag and Baruun Naran deposits in the South Gobi region.

Battsengel Gotov, MMC’s CEO, said:

“We believe the gradual recovery in coking coal prices will continue into the second half of 2013. By further optimising the allocation of resources to enhance integrated mining, processing, logistics and transportation operations, the group aims to expand its business scale and improve its margins in an effort to return to profitability.”