Bathurst said the new agreement with Port Taranaki Limited marked a “significant” milestone for the Buller project.

Under the agreement, Bathurst will construct a covered storage shed in an area designated to accept incoming coal from Port of Westport.

The storage area is located adjacent to a deep water berth providing convenience for discharging and loading of vessels, and is large enough to allow for future expansion as new projects come on stream.

Bathurst chief executive officer Hamish Bohannan said the agreement opened up a number of opportunities for the exporting of its coal.

“This agreement is a key step in the logistics chain for the Buller project and we look forward to working with Port Taranaki to progress further opportunities for the storage and shipping of our coal,” he said.

Bathurst boasts a strong portfolio of coal assets, with its flagship South Buller region hosting 52.8 million tonnes of resources.

The company recently exported its first shipment of coal from the South Buller project area via its Cascade open cut mine.

Bathurst is aiming to ramp up production to 2Mt per annum from the South Buller areas during the 2012-13 financial year and hit 4Mtpa in the 2014-15 financial year through mining in the North Buller areas of the project.