Next month Bowen Energy will list on the Australian Stock Exchange with five exploration areas in the Bowen Basin.

While its board is heavy on financial experience and with non-executive directors Neil Stuart and Mark Sheppard bringing the geology experience, that expertise will match up with a focus on exploration to prove up new resources.

“The company seeks to position itself to prove the in situ resources and then farm-out or joint venture its projects to companies capable of taking over the development and major capital expenditure required,” the company said.

“The directors want to highlight the exploration potential and the opportunity to farm-out the exploration or value-add the projects up to feasibility and then participate in producing mines.”

Bowen Energy has acquired 2100 square kilometres of exploration ground in the Bowen Basin close to major mines operated by BHP, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Anglo Coal.

The company said previous coal methane drill logs indicate the location of coal seams on Bowen Energy property.

The company’s 89sq.km Cockatoo property is 10km from the German Creek East coal mine and 20km from the Norwich Park opencut mine. A summary assessment shows high quality thin seams of the German Creek Formations may be present and that the main target of thick coking coal seams belonging to the Rangal Coal Measures are present at depth.

Seismic investigations of the company’s Richfield property, on 920sq.km and 25km northeast of Middlemount, have indicated coal at depths of 200 metres plus.

At EPC 786 four seams have been intersected, typically some 7.5m of net coal with cumulative coal of up to 10m.

“With the general persistence of the coal seams in the Bandanna Formation (Rangal Coal Measures), there are almost certainly coal seams to be delineated within the EPC and a strong potential to define suitable thermal coal resources,” the company said.

Bowen Energy also plans to take advantage of the Queensland Government’s spending plans to upgrade infrastructure in the Bowen Basin.

During the next five years, the amount of export coal transported by rail to Central Queensland ports is expected to increase by more than 5% per year.

The Queensland Government has committed to spend $2.2 billion on new infrastructure projects that will support the coal industry and a further $3.1 billion is planned on upgrade and expansion as well as additional rolling stock.

Bowen Energy will also be focusing on uranium exploration in Queensland.