By Bob Mayti and Kevin Saville

March 21, 2018 - Knight Hawk Coal is "effectively sold out" on projected record production of at least 5 million st in 2018, CEO Steve Carter said Monday.

The company produced roughly 4.8 million st in 2017, but should reach or eclipse 5 million st this year partly because of new coal sales contracts with LGE/KU and TVA, said Carter.

While he did not elaborate about either new agreement, Carter indicated most of the additional coal is expected to come from Knight Hawk's flagship Prairie Eagle mine.

The underground mine produced 3.6 million st in 2017 and 3.3 million st in 2016, according to the US Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Last September, the company opened a new portal at Prairie Eagle. Knight Hawk's major project this year is to construct a five-mile-long conveyor belt to transport coal from the new portal to the Prairie Eagle prep plant.

The project is scheduled for completion in early 2019.

"For all intents and purposes, we'll seal up our old works and have a new mine," he said.

Knight Hawk has never produced 5 million st a year.

"We wish prices were better, but we'll live with them," Carter added.

Earlier this year, icy conditions on the lower Mississippi River hampered shipping from Knight Hawk's dock near Chester, Illinois.

Lately, however, "shipping has been good," Carter said. "We've been pretty strong here, although we had some issues in January."

Knight Hawk has added a fifth continuous miner section at Prairie Eagle.

The Carter family controls a majority of the company, with St. Louis-based Arch Coal having a 49% ownership stake. 

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