On Wednesday, the Colorado company said the amended permit for the Judith Basin County project gave it the additional nine locations corresponding with the third phase.

Its board of directors have given the green light to the immediate start of that portion of the program.

Phase 3 will focus on the eastern area of the property, where the most promising results to date – in terms of thickness of the coal and energy content – have been identified.

Preliminary results for the five core samples from Pace’s initial phase showed a high energy content with a range of 11,462 and 18,224 British thermal units on a dry and ash-free basis.

Sulfur content ranged from 2-3.7% while ash content ranged from 30.6-51.9%.

American Power has given the go-ahead to Standard Laboratories to prepare a washability study, including a float/sink analysis to American Society for Testing and Materials standards.

The review will determine the amount of ash and sulfur content that could be reduced from the seam to improve quality.

In the meantime, the second set of core samples from the second phase are being prepared for shipment to the retained laboratory service.

The explorer said as of November 3, its drillers have completed a total of 11,599 feet of drilling for the first two phases of the program.

It completed 4944ft of drilling on six out of eight drill locations in phase 2.

With the second phase set to wrap up imminently, American Power said the third phase would follow immediately, weather permitting.