Despite the costs cuts, Henry did not rule out acquisitions – including the possible purchase of Anglo American’s Grosvenor and Moranbah North mines in Queensland.

The company, which had already succeeded in taking $3 billion of costs since 2012, would also seek to expand volumes as it strove to drive down the unit costs of production.

“Rather than waiting for higher prices, we have been deliberate in shaping a quality, focused portfolio that allows us to deliver value in challenging market conditions and positions us well for an expected longer-term improvement in coal market fundamentals,” Henry said.

“While cost compression has been evident across the industry, we continue to work hard under our new operating model to improve our performance.

“Even in today’s difficult environment, all of our operations remain cash positive.”

Henry remained upbeat about the place of coal in the world market, especially metallurgical coal which is a vital ingredient in the making of steel.

The company’s strong position in coal will be further supported by improving market dynamics.

“The developing world needs steel, steel needs coking coal, and we have the strongest resource position in the seaborne market,” he said.

“Against the backdrop of greater uncertainty in the outlook for thermal coal, we are confident that base demand in emerging economies will remain resilient for decades to come and our higher quality coals position us well in an increasingly carbon constrained world.”