Australian coal miner, Gloucester Coal, is to step-up exploration in New South Wales, targeting up to 275 million tonnes of additional coal. The company said its expanded coal exploration program in the Gloucester Basin would be funded through available cash and operating cashflows, and would take several years.
Exploration this year will focus on the Stratford and Duralie areas, with the number of drilling rigs in operation doubled to four.
“The expanded exploration activities are designed to increase the company’s coal resources and cement the long term future of the company as a low cost provider of thermal and semi-hard coking coal,” chief executive Rob Lord said in a statement today.
“Concept studies are now underway to support mining beyond 2030, at production rates of 3.5 million tonnes per annum of product coal.”
Mr Lord said he expected the proportion of higher value semi-hard coking coal would increase by up to 45 per cent.
The company’s exploration activities in the past three years had led to the identification of an additional 32.2 million tonnes of coal resources in the measured and indicated categories of Australia’s mineral reporting code, he said.
These exploration programs also defined 15 million tonnes of resources in the inferred category.
The company said it expected to announce an updated resources and reserves statement later this month.
It said last week it expects a record half year net profit, with preliminary unaudited estimates between $41 million and $44 million.
Cash on hand at the end of December was $25 million.
Source: The Australian
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