OGL Resources, a dual-listed Australia-based company with offices in Sydney and Brisbane, will benefit from the extensive coal experience of its recently appointed managing director and chief executive Allan Fidock.

Fidock entered the coal industry after high school, accepting a role as a trainee mine surveyor, and has since worked his way up through technical and operational management roles, until entering the corporate level most recently with Macarthur Coal’s executive leadership group.

He is excited to be at the helm of OGL as it moves towards becoming a producer of export-quality thermal coal.

OGL has an agreement with Zedemar Holdings to purchase the Ebenezer coal mine and Bremer View tenements for a total of $A50 million by the end of May.

The projects are located in a historical coal mining precinct west of Ispwich and immediately south of New Hope’s Jeebropilly coal mine.

The Ebenezer coal mine was mined from 1988 to 2003, when it was closed due to low coal prices.

OGL plans to capitalise on the forecast increase in demand from thermal coal-fired power stations being built in the emerging economies of China, India and Vietnam.

The Ebenezer mining lease covers 675 hectares and has a current JORC reserve of 13.7 million tonnes and a 31.3Mt JORC resource.

The 9202ha Bremer View project is adjacent to Ebenezer and contains a current JORC coal resource of 208Mt.

The Bremer View tenement has also identified an 80-100Mt exploration target derived from an additional 70 historical drill holes not included in the current geological model.

The coal quality within the Ebenezer and Bremer View tenements is very similar and the bulk of the coal is within 100m of the surface. When Ebenezer mine was previously operated the product was well regarded in the export coal market.

The projects offer many advantages, including an existing railway loop which links Ebenezer to the Port of Brisbane by a 90km rail line.

OGL is aiming to start production at Ebenezer within 12 months of the acquisition, subject to port and rail agreements, the completion of contracts for mining and operations and coal processing.

The coal handling and preparation facilities at Ebenezer were removed and sold when the site was closed in 2003 and OGL is already assessing the purchase of a second-hand modular CHPP and associated infrastructure.

“There are plenty of prospects within Queensland that would love be this close to the coast, have a railway line on the boundary, have an economic reserve and a history of a product in the market, so a lot of the fundamentals are very sound,” Fidock said.

“The opportunity with OGL and the Ebenezer project is a great one, so I jumped at the chance to be part of what could be very fulfilling both professionally and personally.

“That said, there are a few challenges we need to work through but the reality is, it doesn’t matter how large you are or how small you are, if you want to open a mine or recommission a mine as we do, it’s not going to be plain sailing.

“Those challenges are around the infrastructure available within the state and also around the growing influence community groups can have in any form of industrial or resource development.”

Two individuals have launched legal action, challenging the Queensland mines minister’s approval of the mining lease in September 2011.

“From our perspective and the advice that we’ve had, we believe the minister has acted within his powers so we’re confident the challenge will not be successful but it’s within the courts for consideration [at time of going to press],” Fidock said.

The area was historically and is currently mined and Fidock referred to a report issued by the Queensland Resources Council in December, which stated the mining industry within the Ipswich region contributed almost $700 million to the economy in the 2010-11 financial year.

“I believe you’ll always get a cross-section of community that aren’t happy but conversely there’s a large proportion of the community who would welcome further mines or the recommissioning of a mine,” Fidock said.

“It means economics, in the form of jobs and support services, the Ipswich council is supportive and of course our intent is to operate within all industry guidelines so I believe the majority of the community will be supportive.

“Also, and unlike other mining areas in the state, our employees won’t need to work on a fly-in, fly-out arrangement, they live within a daily commute to the mine so are home each night with their families.

“The industry is important and is a substantial contributor to the region and has been for 100 years.”

OGL undertook a recent capital raising that closed in January to progress the purchase and prepare for operational readiness at Ebenezer.

“We’re going to use all of that money to fund some critical infrastructure and equipment purchases and also enable us complete the capital raising, and all the work that we need to do between now and May to complete the tenement sale,” Fidock said.

“It’s a tight timeline but our planning’s well underway to achieve that.

“I’m confident we’ve got a very strong story that will be well regarded by the market.”

He said OGL was already fielding strong investor interest.

“There’s been good interest in the project from many different areas and I think that bodes well for what we’re planning to implement,” he said.

“It is a real opportunity.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do but I’m confident we’ll come through with the goods.”

Fidock said aside from the capital raising, there was the program to move Ebenezer from a project plan into execution.

“There is some preparation work we need to do as the site has been dormant with respect to coal mining although there has been continuing rehabilitation and care and maintenance activities since 2003,” he said.

“Also once we’ve secured some of that critical infrastructure we’ll need to get that in place.”

Fidock said he had had a very fortunate career and was excited about being able to recommission an old coal mine he’d been aware of earlier in his career.

“So for me OGL is really that next step, the opportunity to move into a small company that has what I believe is a very good prospect and the chance to effectively drive the company and develop the prospect and have a significant influence in the outcome,” he said.

“I think the opportunity that OGL have found with Ebenezer and the agreement they’ve been able to make with the existing tenement holder is a great one.

“Fundamentally, the issues and challenges are ones I’m looking forward to overcoming and getting this project up and running – it’s exciting times.”

*A version of this report, first published in the March 2012 edition of RESOURCESTOCKS magazine, was commissioned by OGL Resources