Bandanna’s Arcturus, Springsure Creek and Arcadia projects could together produce more than 20Mtpa of thermal coal from a combined JORC-compliant resource of more than 800Mt, according to its September quarterly report.
During the quarter, Bandanna boosted the JORC-compliant resource at its Springsure Creek to 374.5Mt following a 17-hole drilling program.
The Queensland coal explorer said the growing resource base boosted its aim of becoming an emerging player in the Australian thermal coal sector.
“This on-going program is designed to target increased confidence of existing resources with a view to expanding reserves to underpin further definitive feasibility studies,” Bandanna said.
It also started extra studies at the tenement as part of the definitive feasibility study which is expected to be completed around mid-2012.
A laser levelling and photometric survey was completed during the reporting period at its Arcturus tenement which provided base line topographic and land use information.
The topographic detail will provide vertical resolution to approximately 20 centimetres.
The Arcturus thermal coal project is targeting 5Mtpa of product coal through open cut and underground mining in the later years, with first coal possibly in 2014.
Meanwhile, Bandanna applied for a mining lease at its South Galilee joint venture with privately owned AMCI.
Located in the Galilee Basin, the South Galilee project is expected to produce around 13.6Mtpa of thermal coal over a 33-year mine life.
Bandanna said the mining lease application was part of a rigorous process involving an environmental impact statement, which was currently in progress.
The company also managed to secure 6Mtpa of nominated annual capacity under the feasibility funding facility agreement for stage 2 of the Wiggins Island coal export terminal.
Bandanna already has 4Mtpa allocation secured for the proposed 27Mtpa stage 1 development.
It said the access to port infrastructure at Gladstone’s WICET was vital to the future expansion of its mining plans within the Bowen Basin.
