Hunter Valley miner Cumnock Coal reported a 16% drop in coal output for the September quarter.

The company said the current quarter had been impacted by a longwall relocation, which also affected saleable production, down 10% compared with the same period in the previous year.

Cumnock underground production was 616,413 tonnes for the period, against 738,254t last year. Saleable coal produced was 503,681t compared with 562,096t in the same quarter of 1999.

Over the total year, output was looking healthier with total coal mined for the nine months to September 2000 14% higher than at the same time last year at 2.09Mt. Saleable coal output was 1.53Mt for the nine month period.