The initial inferred resource figure, which is higher than the prospectus exploration target of 40â€50Mt, better defines the extent of the Queensland deposit, Stanmore managing director Nick Jorss said.
“This is a very attractive coal deposit with all the hallmarks of turning into a first-class project,” he said.
“The results of the initial program give us the confidence to progress The Range to the next stage, with further drilling underway and plans for prefeasibility studies in the near term.”
There is potential to expand the resource because the coal seams are open to the west. Within the resource area, the depth to top of coal ranges from 15m to 50m and the average net hole is 6.1m.
Modelling of raw coal quality data and detailed ply-by-ply correlation has led to the definition of seven mineable seams, with the seams dripping less than one degree.
Jorss said the company was in discussions with relevant infrastructure providers about transport options for The Range project.
Prefeasibility studies will commence after the next round of drilling. These will include investigations into land access, mining methods, coal processing, environment, infrastructure, markets and financing.
Xenith Consulting conducted the review of the tenement, which is 24km southeast of Wandoan in the Surat Basin and covers an area of about 90 square kilometres.
The modelling of the deposit was completed using Minescape software and utilised corehole and chiphole drill data integrated with downhole geophysical logging of all holes.
The review demonstrated that open cut mining is possible at a maximum strip ratio of 11:1, and identified an additional exploration target of 100-125Mt.
Coal quality was tested by Bureau Veritas’ Brisbane laboratory, which found the coal displayed relatively low raw ash, low sulfur, high caloric value and high volatiles.
The preliminary washability test results returned a range of 6â€12% ash, indicating an export-quality product.
Stanmore shares were up 3c to 93c in early morning trade.
