Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa (JSW) has declared force majeure following two lethal incidents at separate mines last month, the firm says in a stock exchange filing seen by Kallanish. The EU’s main coking coal miner forecasts a 400,000-tonne coal production loss as a result.

At its Borynia-Zofiowka mine, a high-energy tremor on 23 April claimed the lives of ten miners, while at the Pniowek mine, a methane explosion on 20 April has so far claimed the lives of nine miners, with 11 remaining in hospital and seven still missing.

Activity at the Zofiowka section of Borynia-Zofiowka has been suspended, while the Pniowek mine blast area has been sealed, with no indication of how long this will last, JSW says. It is not possible at present to forecast the full impact of these developments on JSW’s future performance, the firm adds.

JSW saw merchant coking coal sales fall 5% on-year in the first quarter to 1.68 million tonnes, while coke sales were down 6% to 950,000t (see Kallanish passim). Overall coal sales, including thermal coal, however rose 6% to 4.06mt.

JSW said in March it does not envisage CIS raw material supply disruption hampering steel mills’ production and therefore the uptake by these mills of its coal and coke products. The firm was, in fact, in discussion with EU mills to help cover any coal shortages.