Coal International, in which Cambrian Mining has a key stake, has lifted production to record levels at Cauley Eagle in Virginia.

Cauley Eagle fed nearly 128,000 raw tonnes of coal into its preparation plant in March, which yielded 62,555 marketable tonnes. AIM-quoted Coal International is upgrading and developing its other West Virginian properties, largely with finance from fellow AIM counter Cambrian.

Last month Cambrian provided the company with a £5 million bridging loan and a £6.2 million working capital facility for its Maple metallurgical coal project.

Helping to beef up Coal International is part of Cambrian’s plan for companies it backs to produce a combined six million tonnes of coal in 2008. Coal International’s shares fell from 116.5p in 2005 to 27.5p earlier this month and have now rallied to 36p, while Cambrian’s shares, which hit 225p in February last year, are 1.5p up today at 115p.