The deal allots 1 million OGL notes to Cape Lambert equating to a $1 million investment and a fully diluted interest of 15.2% in the company.

Cape Lambert will appoint a director to the OGL board and the notes will be converted to ordinary shares upon completion of OGL’s $2 million capital raising and shareholder approval.

“We look forward to begin involved with OGL as an investment that satisfies our strict criteria of near-term projection, access to infrastructure and long-term mine life from existing JORC resources,” Cape Lambert executive chairman Tony Sage said.

“We are confident of a successful outcome of the court case which would enable OGL to complete the acquisition, secure project financing and recommence mining at Ebenezer.”

OGL encountered a roadblock in its plans to develop Queensland’s historical Ebenezer mine last June when an appeal was lodged by two landholders against the Supreme Court’s rejection of their bid to stop OGL advancing the renewal of operations at the site.

OGL is planning to produce 1 million tonnes per annum of run of mine coal at Ebenezer by 2013 after raising capital for the project.

The mine originally opened in 1988 and operated until early 2003, producing more than 20.5Mt of thermal coal for the domestic and export market.