The inaugural export of 20,000 tonnes of premium hard coking coal is being shipped from the Port of Lyttelton, New Zealand on board the Tian Bai Feng to Bedi Port in Gujarat, India.

From there, it will be transported to coke-maker, Gujarat NRE – one of Pike River’s life-of-mine customers.

“This is a significant event for the company and the culmination of intensive efforts to bring the mine into production,” Pike River chief executive Gordon Ward said.

Gujarat and fellow Indian life-of-mine customer, Saurashtra Fuels have agreed to take 55% of Pike River’s coal.

Pike River also has three-year supply contracts with Japanese steel mills. These contracts

account for the supply of 22% of Pike’s total coal production.

The company aimed to make a maiden 60,000t delivery in mid-November, but experienced tougher geological conditions than expected at its namesake mine in New Zealand’s South Island and also faced equipment issues.

Ward said the next export shipment is scheduled for the June 2010 quarter.

While the initial production from the mine is coming from continuous miners, Pike is preparing to start hydro-mining in June to July, which was previously expected in the June quarter.

“Once hydro-mining is underway in the September 2010 quarter, the typical export shipment size of premium hard coking coal will be approximately 60,000 tonnes,” he said.

“Once full production rates from hydro-mining are achieved, the mine is expected to produce an average of approximately 1 million tonnes of premium hard coking coal a year.”

Pike River’s inaugural export shipment coincides with a buoyant international market in which world coking coal prices are expected to rise even higher than previously forecast, Wood said.

Pike shares are up half a cent to 73c on the Australian Securities Exchange.