A business update provided by Core Natural Resources‘ (CNR 2.80%) provided plenty of energy for its stock on Monday. Shares of the coal miner popped by nearly 3% that day as a result and make the stock look rather good when comparing its performance to the 0.5% lift of the S&P 500 index
Sales guidance maintained for crucial product
Core provided an update on its longwall operations at the Leer South mine in West Virginia. For those unfamiliar, longwall mining is a modern extraction method in which a long face of coal is mined in one single, large slice by a specialty machine called a shearer.
Image source: Getty Images.
The company said that it has shut the mine for the second time, following a closure at the start of this year due to what it termed “combustion-related activity.” Earlier this month, Core officials reentered the sealed area of the facility, finding that the longwall equipment was “largely unaffected” by the event.
In its press release on the matter, Core said that an increase in carbon monoxide levels necessitated the second shutdown. It added that it “is working closely with federal and state officials on a plan to recover and reposition the longwall equipment in an effort that is expected to be completed within four months.”
Not out of the woods yet
While investors surely weren’t happy about Leer South’s continuing difficulties, they were comforted by Core’s assertion that the problems shouldn’t affect overall mining volume of a key product. In the press release, the company reiterated its full-year coking sales volume forecast. It pledged to update this in its second-quarter earnings release, scheduled for August.
A mine shutdown is a concerning event, so even with that guidance remaining unchanged the situation at Leer South could be better (to put it gently). I’m not so sure I’d be racing to buy Core stock these days.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
