The company was also encouraged by infrastructure developments in Queensland, with the Australian Transport & Energy Corridor, one of the three joint venture partners in Surat Basin Rail, announcing it had secured a strategic investment by US fund The Energy & Minerals Group.

ATEC is now fully funded to complete financial close of its equity share of the Surat Basin Rail (SBR) project.

MetroCoal plans to seek participation in the SBR project later in 2011, following its application for 12Mtpa capacity at the development of the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal in Gladstone.

MetroCoal’s drilling at Columboola has identified three coal packages that have sufficient thickness, continuity and correlation to pursue further for possible underground mining.

They are the known Macalister, Bulwer and Condamine seam packages.

The first eight holes of the planned 35-hole program have been completed for 5137m in total.

Drilling continued in the Bundi project area within EPC 1164, Wandoan West, in the March quarter.

The planned drilling program consists of 70 holes on an 800m offset grid pattern to optimise drill spacing for resource estimation.

The drilling results for the first five holes continue to confirm the continuity and correlations of the Macalister Upper and Kogan seams within the Bundi project area.

The latest results indicate the potential for two working seams in the Bundi project and the company is anticipating including a Kogan seam resource in its next resource evaluation.