Lodging its prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission today, Endocoal has increased the size of its float from $12 million on the back of stronger than expected demand.
Overseas interest includes a “European commodity trader and a China-based coal mining company”, Endocoal says.
Helmsec Global Capital is lead manager of the offer while RBS Morgans and Lonsec will jointly manage the retail component.
The retail offer will open on March 25 with trading expected to start on April 29 after ASIC and Australian Securities Exchange approvals.
Endocoal expects its market cap to reach $71.2 million after listing, with the extra funds going to exploration and the process of obtaining consents and mining lease approvals.
The junior holds 10 exploration permits covering 5000 square kilometres in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.
“All tenements are close to existing coal resources, coal mining operations and infrastructure, including railways to coal terminals, and exploration licences have been granted on six tenements,” the company said.
The tenements share some well-known neighbours, including Xstrata’s Rolleston thermal coal mine, Anglo’s Dawson and German Creek coking coal operations and Yancoal’s (formerly Felix Resources) Minerva mine.
Drilling at the Orion Downs and Rockwood projects started in September.
Endocoal said Orion Downs contained shallow coal seams up to 12m in thickness and that the southwest Bowen Basin project hosted potential export-quality thermal coal.
At Rockwood, thick seams were intersected at less than 80m from the surface.
Broome is Endocoal’s chairman and was previously managing director of Ampcontrol and the Australian Coal Industry Research Laboratory.
He remains a director on the boards of Inbye Mining Services, Micromine, Austmine, Solid Energy, CRL Energy, WorkPac Group, Quadrem International Holdings, Buccaneer Energy and Nimrodel Resources.
Back in 2000 he received the Order of Australia for services to mining and the year before that received the Westpac export award for mining.
Austin is Endocoal’s managing director and used to be Oceanic Coal’s chief executive when it operated five coal mines in the Hunter Valley and Queensland, with combined output exceeding 5 million tonnes per annum.
He has a strong background in accounting and merchant banking and was once on the board of both the New South Wales Coal Association and Mining Council executive committees.
Oceanic Coal’s operations are now part of Xstrata, with Glencore International subsidiary Enex acquiring the company in 1999.
