On a yearly basis, BHP’s share of coking coal production was down 8% to 35.2 million tonnes, while for the three months to June, its 9.1Mt production was 18% lower than the same time last year but 33% higher than in March.

The company said the numbers reflected the strong production recovery at its Qld mines, with force majeure lifted during the June 2008 quarter.

Despite this, the recovery efforts continue at the mines which were affected by the flooding – including the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance operations at Peak Downs, Goonyella and Saraji - are operating at around 90% capacity.

Unsurprisingly, the 2007-2008 financial year was a much better one for Illawarra Coal in New South Wales, which reported record annual production of 7.3Mt, up from 6.9Mt in the 2006-2007 financial year.

The operation hit the new record despite a longwall move during the June quarter, which saw production drop to 1.3Mt from 1.8Mt in the three months to March.

In energy coal, BHP’s production was also down to 80.9Mt, 2% lower than the previous year, despite a record 11.2Mt produced from the Hunter Valley Coal operations.

For the quarter, the company’s energy coal production totaled 23.6Mt, up 11% on a quarterly basis.

BHP’s New Mexico coal division also reported record production for the June quarter after a scheduled longwall move at the San Juan mine.

The major miner’s Australian-listed shares closed down 0.8% to $38.62 yesterday.