(Repeats story published late on Tuesday)
* NWR's Salamon expects most of Debiensko reserves mineable
* Sees Debiensko mine opening in four to seven years
* Sees NWR coal prices rising in 2009
By Jan Korselt and Jana Mlcochova
PRAGUE, July 1 (Reuters) - Czech hard coal miner New World
Resources <NWRS.L> <NWRSsp.PR> expects its prices to grow next
year as they converge with international markets, NWR Executive
Chairman Miklos Salamon said.
Salamon said in an interview the company expected to open up
a Polish mine in four to seven years and was confident most of
its reserves were extractable.
"If you look at our business ... we price annually on a
calendar year basis, and consequently we are not priced at the
same level as the international prices. We are much lower as of
today," Salamon said in a telephone interview.
"Our expectations would be that there is a potential for our
prices to rise for 2009, to reflect what happens in
international markets," he added, but gave no detailed forecast.
NWR is selling one tonne of coking coal, used at iron works'
blast furnaces, for 139 euros ($219.30), and a tonne of steam
coal costs 69 euros. It sells most of its output on the domestic
market, and is protected from competition of cheaper sea-born
coal due to high transportation costs.
The international benchmark coking coal prices have crept
above $300 per tonne (189.9 euros), based on contract price for
coking coal as settled by Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA),
the world's largest coking coal exporter.
Salamon dismissed doubts by some analysts that a 300 million
euro investment into upgrades of mining equipment - meant to
improve efficiency rather than raise output - to be finished in
2009 may be running late.
"Everything seems to be going according to schedule, so
there is no reason to believe that this time schedule cannot be
achieved," he said.
NWR, the fourth largest corporate employer in the Czech
Republic, expects the upgrade will enable the firm to reduce
staff by 10 percent by attrition from 21,400 in the first
quarter, Salamon said.
NWR shares, which have risen 22 pct since their Prague debut
in May, slipped 3 percent to 521 crowns by 1340 on Tuesday,
while Prague main PX index <> shed 1.99 percent.
POLAND
Salamon said NWR would likely to be able to extract most of
the 190 million tonnes that is estimated at the Polish Debiensko
mine when it starts fully operating in four to seven years.
"We think that most of that is mineable," he said.
"The more conventional thinking would be the longer period
(to open the mine), and if we can bring some sort of new ideas
... maybe we could shrink that period."
The company received permission to reopen the mine in the
south of Poland on June 24 but Polish officials had said only
half of the reserves is extractable.
NWR is considering a mixture of project financing, debt,
equity and its own cash for financing the 600-800 million euro
investment in developing the Debiensko mine, NWR's spokesman Joe
Cook added during the interview.
The project will help the company raise its debt levels
towards targeted 2 times earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from the current 0.6
multiple, Cook said.
Salamon said NWR could yield about 4 million tonnes of coal
from the Debiensko deposit per year.
"Consequently whether (mineable reserves are) 160 or 190 is
not such an important issue. Most of us will be dead when we
come to this problem," Salamon said.
(Editing by Jason Neely)
