During the mine development stage at the 1640-acre mining leasehold, crews created five tunnels at the Carbon County operation, each 20 feet wide and extending more than three miles to the active sections.

Electrical infrastructure was also installed, as was a water supply and shuttle car and conveyor belt systems.

Horizon, which holds an estimated resource of 16 million recoverable tons of thermal coal, has produced about 1.6Mt to date. The 60,000tpm average production goal will be reached at prime levels with two continuous miners in operation.

The company said America West remained on pace to achieve a positive cash flow for the current quarter, and would also continue to implement further planned expansion initiatives.

This includes the deployment of a third continuous miner during the second half of 2011, which should increase monthly coal production to more than 90,000t – more than 1Mt annually.

The mine’s long-term expansion goals include the acquisition and installation of a longwall mining system, pending the receipt of necessary financing.

"Now that Horizon has transitioned to full production phase, our mining team will commence with the removal of the pillars of coal,” company president Dan Baker said of Horizon’s immediate plans, noting that its excavation costs would not decrease as production began its rise.

"We have arrived at a critical inflexion point in the evolution of America West Resources, and our future has never looked brighter."