Hazelwood Secures Long-term Sales Contracts for ATC Operation

Hazelwood Resources (ASX:HAZ) announced that it has signed long-term contracts with three Japanese buyers for ferrotungsten from its 60 percent owned ATC operation.
As quoted in the press release:

These buyers are major buyers of ferrotungsten in the Japanese market. Ferrotungsten contracts are typically scheduled in six month periods with monthly ‘call-offs’. The call-offs confirmed for the next six months represent over 45% of the planned production at ATC with options to take that to over 65%. Whereas the buyer details and payment terms cannot be released as they are commercially sensitive, HAZ can confirm that the price and payment terms are superior to previous sales HAZ has secured on the European spot market.
These sales enable ATC to plan production in an orderly manner with concentrate purchase contracts on matched terms to preserve operating margins. ATC completed a production run in early August and a new production run for September that starts today will be combined to provide enough ferrotungsten to meet initial call-off requirements. Management will consider increased production based on likely additional spot market sales offtake.

Mark Warren, executive chairman at Hazelwood, commented:

We are honoured to be awarded these contracts by our Japanese customers. We believe these contracts reaffirm our customers’ recognition of the premium ferrotungsten produced at ATC. These are significant contracts and place ATC in the best position for sales its short history. These are an important step in our change plan for improved operational efficiency and profitability at ATC.

Click here to read the full Hazelwood Resources (ASX:HAZ) press release.