Paringa Resources Ltd. said March 25 that the first coal shipment from the Poplar Grove mine, part of the Buck Creek Complex in Kentucky, will be delayed to the week of April 22 after deciding to bring forward the installation of a slope conveyor.

First coal sales were expected this week.

Run-of-mine volumes brought to the surface via underground loaders are lower than expected due to a government directive limiting operations to one loader.

The permanent slope conveyor will have a nameplate capacity of up to 2,000 tonnes of run-of-mine material per hour and will improve the planned production ramp-up, the company said. It will also increase mining rates and eliminate the haulage bottleneck limiting the mine's production ramp-up.