At the company’s annual general meeting on Monday, Caledon reported that Cook has averaged 8000 tonnes per week during most of July, which further increased to 9000tpw by month end.

London-listed Caledon assumed ownership of the mine in December last year, and has since prepared the bord and pillar mine to become the only Australian coal mine to use Magatar’s continuous haulage system.

“We believe that the introduction of the Magatar Mining System – consisting of a new ABM 25 bolter miner linked to the continuous haulage system – together with new equipment and improvements to the main conveyor will allow this ramp-up to continue,” chief operating officer Peter Seear said yesterday.

All components of the new continuous haulage system are now onsite and being assembled, ahead of underground installation and compatibility tests with the new ABM25 continuous bolter miner in mid-September.

Underground roadway development and conveyor installation for the new Magatar system is also expected to be complete by this time.

“We are all expecting a monthly target of 100,000t of product by the end of the year," Seear said.

With the continuous haulage system in operation, Caledon forecasts a production rate of 1.5 million tonnes per annum in 2008.

Caledon also confirmed changes to its workforce yesterday announcing a move from a contractor workforce to owner-operator, which means all site-based contractors are now directly employed by Caledon.

“This means that the knowledge and skills being developed at the mine will stay with Caledon,” Seear said.

Cook’s first coking coal shipment of 45,000t has now been delivered to the Port of Gladstone and is scheduled to sail mid-August.

Caledon's 100% owned Cook mine is host to approximately 126.5Mt of resource and in excess of 17Mt of mineable reserves.