Australian hard coking coal miner Bathurst Resources has announced a 37% increase in its estimated coal reserves at its West Coast tenement around the Denniston plateau, north of Westport.
Bathurst has received more than 20 conditional consents from the West Coast Regional Council and Buller District Council recently, but aspects of these are to be appealed by three separate parties through the Environment Court and are at present subject to mediation.
Bathurst's estimated coal reserves have been increased from 12.6 million tonnes to 17.3 million. Its estimated coal resources are up 12% to 871.7 million tonnes. Its shares during the past month rose to $1.12, dropped to 74c then settled around 95c yesterday.
Bathurst managing director Hamish Bohannan said the company's focus for the next six to 12 months was to continue to drill to increase reserves and resources at South Buller, and start work at North Buller as part of the present pre-feasibility programme. It had hoped to start production by the end of the year, but appeals might hold that up.
Mr Bohannan said last week guidelines for the Environment Court process "should take no more than six months", and the panel had a further three months to release a decision.
He said while the "flagship" Buller mine on the Denniston plateau was on hold, he hoped to "at least double" the present 40,000-tonne production from the Cascade mine on the plateau.
Mine design drilling is advancing at Bathurst's Brookdale site, which could be in production by the end of the year or early 2012.
Port infrastructure development at Westport and employment opportunities were on hold until the outcome of mediation and likely Environment Court hearings.
