Reference is made to the Hua-An’s announcements on 11 March
2015, 16 March 2015, 17 March 2015 and 18 June 2015 pertaining to the above subject
matter.
The Board of Directors of Hua-An wishes to announce that all the relevant rectification
works on the metallurgical coke plant and equipment required by the Ministry of
Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China (“MoEP”) to comply with the
newly revised environmental protection standards introduced in 2015 have been duly
completed on or before 31 May 2015.
Notwithstanding the above, the recommencement of Yehua’s coke production however, will
still need to be deferred over a period of time as some degree of damage were found on
the coke ovens resulting from the abrupt and drastic drop in their internal operating
temperature (from approximately 1300°C to approximately 100°C) during the shutdown
period, the move of which was at the behest of the MoEP.
Due to the unprecedented nature of the said shutdown and damage to the ovens as a result
thereof, the management has decided to stagger the relevant repair and restoration work
on the damaged ovens in phases in order to ensure effective and efficient use of
resources. Upon determination that the repair and restoration work in phase 1 proves to
be satisfactory and viable, the ensuing phase encompassing the remaining ovens shall be
initiated.
Based on the management’s preliminary estimate, Yehua’s production may be resumed by 31
December 2015. The management wishes to stress herein however that the abovementioned
resumption date is only tentative in nature and is largely based on prevailing condition
and information on hand at this material point of time. As such, this preliminary
estimate may vary, as some unanticipated elements or events which are beyond the
management’s control may emerge from time to time, as the repair works progresses.
This announcement is dated 22 June 2015.
