Production only comes from its 65%-owned Baralaba mine in the southeastern arm of the Bowen Basin, but the mine plus the nearby Baralaba North and Wonbindi projects have 33.6Mt of marketable reserves.

This is enough to support Cockatoo’s Wiggins Island stage one coal export application.

The company also observed 86.8Mt of inferred resources in these three areas, which could add to the marketable reserves after more drilling is completed.

Cockatoo lodged its mining lease applications for the Baralaba mine project and Baralaba North area with the state government as part of its strategy to expand the Baralaba mine.

The two MLAs cover an extra area of 1011 hectares.

Further north to the Surat Basin, Cockatoo holds a total marketable coal reserve of 40.6Mt in the Woori project.

But there is another 331.5Mt of inferred resources which could be advanced into marketable reserves throughout its Tin Hut Creek, Bottle Tree, Davies Road and Krugers projects in the thermal coal region.

Cockatoo is also in the process of finalising its acquisition of the Collingwood and Taroom projects in the basin.

For the June quarter, the Baralaba mine increased production 49% to 147,540 tonnes of raw coal compared to the heavy rain-affected March quarter.

Total pulverised coal injection coal sales reached 61,929t in the June quarter, while thermal coal sales were 88,242t.

In a positive development on the sales front, Cockatoo sent off a trial cargo of PCI coal to a “new north Asian steel mill customer” in the recent quarter.

Cockatoo shares closed up 3% to 49.5c yesterday.