The company will acquire New Brighton Collieries from L&M Coal Holdings for $US13.81 million.

The principal asset of New Brighton Collieries is exploration permit 40625, which covers 658.3 hectares and is just three miles from Bathurst’s Takitimu mine in Southland.

The permit is prospective for high-grade sub-bituminous coal.

Consent has been granted by the Southland District Council for a bulk sample to be taken from the permit area for trials with potential offtake partners.

A drilling and exploration program is scheduled to begin shortly to obtain a better understanding of the type and nature of the deposit.

While a resource has been clearly defined, further infill drilling is expected to lead to a JORC resource in the coming months.

The acquisition is subject to various conditions, including New Brighton being granted a mining permit for the area.

“This acquisition is a significant addition to our thermal coal portfolio,” Bathurst managing director Hamish Bohannan said.

“It will provide a sound platform for the development of Bathurst’s domestic coal strategy.”

Takitimu is one the company’s two operating coal mines.

It is an open cast mine with a six-year life at 170,000 tonnes per annum.

Bathurst also has 10,000ha of exploration permits in its Buller project, which is well-placed to be producing several million tonnes of high quality metallurgical coal per year.