The final step in the project’s stage three drilling upgraded the inferred resources from 51 million tonnes to 58.5Mt of bituminous coal.

The resource update, undertaken by consultancy Minarco-MineConsult, included a total of 9947 metres drilled over three exploration drilling stages.

The new figure is made up of 48Mt of measured resources, 0.1Mt of indicated resources and 10.4Mt of inferred resources.

The resource upgrade will assist in the completion of mine planning, while Coalworks prepares to commence a bankable feasibility study on the project.

Coalworks chief executive officer Andrew Firek said the resources upgrade will open more doors for the company.

“The currently defined coal quality, indicative strip ratios and the Vickery South JORC compliant coal resources are a major milestone in the development of the Vickery South mine and will now form the basis of final planning and proposed port allocation,” Firek said.

The positive results from Vickery South follow on from a recent prefeasibility study for the project which increased the targeted run of mine production from 2Mt per annum to 3Mtpa.