Corsa Exceeds Q2 Sales Guidance, Provides Updated Outlook and New Technical Report on Casselman Mine

June 14, 2012, Toronto, Ontario - Corsa Coal Corp. (TSXV: CSO) (“Corsa” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that during the second quarter of 2012 the Company sold 72,000 clean tons of metallurgical coal at an average realized price of US$152 per clean ton FOB its preparation plant, exceeding its published guidance of 65,000 to 70,000 tons. As well the Company sold 38,000 tons of thermal coal during the quarter at an average price of $32 a ton. For the six months ended May 31, 2012, the Company has sold 137,000 clean tons of metallurgical coal at an average realized price of $155 per ton and 59,000 tons of thermal coal at an average realized price of $35 a ton. The realized prices reflect the sale of some carry over tons from the previous year’s sale contract.

Outlook improving

The Company is optimistic for the future as both volumes and pricing have begun to indicate an improving trend.  Industry reports indicate (in metric tonnes) that US Low Vol met coal spot pricing FOB (Eastern seaport) was in the range of $165 in March, $185 in April and $182 for May while Australian Prime spot pricing was in the range of $211, $211 and $216 for the same months.  Reports are showing that June pricing for Australian prime is in the $225 range up from the previous quarterly pricing in the $210 range. The Company’s high quality low vol hard met coal has resulted in more positive current marketing activity than in the last three quarters. The US coal industry continues to be challenged particularly with respect to US thermal coal demand which has continued to fall and with respect to lower quality high vol met coals. 

Based on purchase orders, scheduled and expected trains and sales agreements in hand the Company expects to ship approximately 140,000 clean tons of metallurgical coal in the third quarter ending August 31, 2012, doubling its Q2 sales.  Meeting this guidance would result in the Company shipping approximately 275,000 clean tons of metallurgical coal in the nine months ended August 31, 2012.  The order book for the fourth quarter continues to build and management is optimistic that the sales trend is positive. For the remainder of the year the Company will continue to adjust its production and third party purchases to match actual demand and sales orders.

Casselman Mine

An updated technical report (the “Casselman Report”) to satisfy the requirements of NI-43-101 has been prepared and filed on www.sedar.com with respect to the Casselman Mine and is entitled the “Wilson Creek Energy, LLC Technical Report on Coal Reserves Casselman Mine Site, Garrett County, Maryland, USA, June 13, 2012”.  The Casselman Report upgrades the Casselman Mine indicated resource to a proven reserve of 9,886,000 recoverable short tons which is expected to result in 7,884,000 short tons of clean coal after beneficiation. 

The indicated resource was originally disclosed on May 5, 2011 in the technical report titled “Wilson Creek Energy, LLC, Technical Report on Coal Resources, Casselman Mine Site, Garrett County, Maryland, USA”. The coal reserve footprint is 2,452 acres, 19 of which have been mined to date to develop egress to the remainder of the reserves. The coal seam is the Upper Freeport, which ranges from 100 to 600 feet deep over the reserve area, exhibiting a gentle inclination, averaging 3.2 degrees. All of the reserve footprint is permitted and controlled for all aspects of mining. The reserve footprint has been calculated, employing Carlson software modeling, utilizing 52 drill holes for a resulting drilling density of 1 hole per 0.07 square mile. Twenty five (25) of the test holes were analyzed for quality, designating the deposit as low volatile, bituminous coking coal.  

Based upon the results of discounted cash flow analysis, including actual revenues and expenses for the period August 2011 through May 2012 and utilizing a long-term coal sales price of US $120 per ton, the non-discounted post-tax cash flows for the Casselman Mine, assuming the mining of all reserves to exhaustion, is US $115,241,236, the net present value, applying a 10% discount rate, is US $41,779,079, and the internal rate of return has been calculated at 36.9%.

Reference is made to the Casselman Report for full details.

The Company continues to look to expand this mine and has obtained options to lease a further approximately 1,000 acres adjoining the current permitted area for this mine.  These areas will require exploration and assessment before the Company determines if it will exercise these options to lease.  These additional areas are not contained in the Casselman Report.

Caution

The estimated coal production, purchases, sales and processing of coal disclosed in this press release are considered to be forward looking information. Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from this forward looking information. There can be no assurance as to when or if the required permits will be issued. Actual production, sales, shipments, purchases, total cash costs and sales and processing costs are subject to variation based on a number of risks and other factors referred to under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements” as well as actual demand and sales orders received. Costs will be impacted by production levels actually achieved.

Technical Report and Qualified Person

The mineral resource estimates in this press release have been prepared under the supervision of, and the technical information in this press release was verified and approved by, Dennis Noll of Earthtech Inc., a qualified person, as such term is defined in NI 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Dennis Noll is independent of Corsa and Wilson Creek Energy.

Information about Corsa

Corsa’s main operating subsidiaries are Wilson Creek Energy LLC and Maryland Energy Resources LLC based in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.  Its primary business is the mining, processing and selling of metallurgical coal, as well as actively exploring,   acquiring   and   developing   resource   properties consistent with its coal business.

For further information please contact:

Corsa Coal Corp.:
Don Charter
President and Chief Executive Officer
416-214-9800
communication@corsacoal.com www.corsacoal.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this press release contains “forward-looking statements” and “forward-looking information” under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements which include management’s assessment of future plans and operations and are based on current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “estimates”, “expects” “anticipates”, “believes”, “projects”, “plans”, “outlook”, “capacity” and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company’s actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks that transactions referred to will not be completed; risks that the actual production or sales will be less than projected production or sales for these periods; risks that the prices for coal sales will be less than projected; liabilities inherent in coal mine development and production; geological, mining and processing technical problems; inability to obtain required mine licenses, mine permits and regulatory approvals or renewals required in connection with the mining and processing of coal; risks that the Company’s coal preparation plant will not operate at production capacity during the relevant period, unexpected changes in coal quality and specification; variations in the coal mine or coal preparation plant recovery rates; dependence on third party coal transportation systems; competition for, among other things, capital, acquisitions of reserves, undeveloped lands and skilled personnel; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; changes in commodity prices and exchange rates; changes in the regulations in respect to the use, mining and processing of coal; changes in regulations on refuse disposal; the effects of competition and pricing pressures in the coal market; the oversupply of, or lack of demand for, coal; inability of management to secure coal sales or third party purchase contracts; currency and interest rate fluctuations; various events which could disrupt operations and/or the transportation of coal products, including labour stoppages and severe weather conditions; the demand for and availability of rail, port and other transportation services; the ability to purchase third party coal for processing and delivery under purchase agreements; and management’s ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release are based on certain assumptions regarding, among other things, future prices for coal; future currency and exchange rates; the Company’s ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations and access capital markets to meet its future obligations; the regulatory framework representing royalties, taxes and environmental matters in the countries in which the Company conducts business; coal production levels; and the Company’s ability to retain qualified staff and equipment in a cost-efficient manner to meet its demand. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release unless required by law. The statements as to the Company’s capacity to produce coal are no assurance that it will achieve these levels of production or that it will be able to achieve these sales levels.

The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.  Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.