Advancements realised in the quarter include the finalised evaluation of the Meteor Downs South thermal coal project and an increase in overall level of JORC resources from 348.5 million tonnes to 388.7Mt.

Over the quarter, the company’s flagship Rockwood project increased from 312.5Mt to 337.3Mt of coal and Orion Downs boosted its JORC resource from 36.0Mt to 51.4Mt of coal.

The Q1 period began and ended with takeover discussions surrounding the explorer’s various Bowen Basin tenements.

Parties hoping to gain a foothold in the coal-rich region approached the explorer in December and although a formal review resulted in Endocoal rejecting a transaction last week, future deals are still being considered.

“Discussions surrounding transactions to realise value at project and asset level continue to be developed by Endocoal with a number of parties,” the company said.

Endocoal also completed a $A12-million capital raising placement during the quarter and identified continuous coal seams at its fledgling Stockyard Creek project.