Proposed coal projects in the Kimberley, Western Australia

At present, there are no operating coal projects in the Kimberley. However, there are a number of coal exploration projects of which Rey Resources Duchess Paradise Project is the most advanced.

Coal exploration projects in the Kimberley

 * Rey Resources, which holds extensive exploration licences for coal south of Derby. The company states that the coal in the region is of thermal quality only and would be for export to China and India. The company has flagged that Derby Export Facility would be initially developed to cater for the Duchess/ Paradise Coal Project but that, due to the tidal range, has limited potential for development. The company states that the closest deepwater port is at Point Torment, approximately 175 kilometres to the north. Rey Resources has touted a number of notional projects including the Duchess Paradise Coal Project, which the company states it is investigating as a possible export thermal coal operation comprising open cut and underground mines and the Liveringa Coal Project, a possible underground coal mine. The company has also stated that it is also considering coal bed methane extraction and underground coal gasification.


 * ASF Resources (ASFR) is a small exploration company which holds 8 exploration licences in the Canning Basin in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The ASF Group -- the major shreholder in Rey Resources -- holds 48% of the company. The ASF Group states that ASFR's "drilling program will initially focus on its tenements that adjoin Rey Resources Limited’s JORC-compliant Duchess Paradise coal tenements." In its In its September 2012 quarterly report, ASF stated that during the quarter 38 holes were drilled across four exploration licences. However, the company provided limited details of the results of the drilling only that what drilling was completed "showed signs of intersecting coal both at P1 and P2 seams at depths between 190m and 250m. Based on the initial work, further drilling will need to be completed in order to determine the seam thickness. No core drilling was able to be started."


 * Canning Basin Coal, a subsidiary of TPL Corporation, has three exploration licences over 724 square kilometres of the Canning Basin. The company has touted its potential as the Lightjack Hill Coal Project. (TPL had its origins as a web-based publisher while Canning Basin Coal has no operating coal or other mining projects.) Canning Basin Coal suggests that one possibility with coal in the area could have "Underground Coal Gasification potential". In September 2012 TPL reported that it a report by CSA Global cast doubt about the viability of any possible project in the company's tenements. TPL report that "in the current coal market, given the superior quality and availability of Indonesia low energy coals, CSA have advised TPL that it is unlikely that there would be a demand in the short to medium term term for any commercially mineable coal located at the Lightjack Hill Project"


 * Stratum Metals Canning Basin Coal Project is covered under several exploration titles. However, as of November 2012, the company has only undertaken a desktop survey of the geology of the area and undertaken no drilling program of its own.


 * Cullen Resources, another junior exploration company, has touted the Canning Basin Coal Project (Cullen Resources) with Advaita Canning Resources. The company states that the project cover 1315km² "of tenements and applications". It also reports that from a 23 hole drilling program, coal was discovered in only four holes and then only thin seams. (The company states the seams are "0.19-0.55m thick".) In its September 2012 quarterly activities report Cullen stated of this and its other coal interests, that "currently there is minimal activity on these projects pending tenement approvals, and Cullen may seek to farm – out these projects pending improvement in investor sentiment in the coal sector." In an October 2012 investor briefing the company did not mention its coal properties or list them in its "near term activities" list.


 * Canning Coal is a wholly owned subsidiary of of Australia Minerals and Mining Group (AMMG). In August 20-11 Canning Coal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Queensland-based Anhui Lianghuai Resources Pty Ltd "for potential capital investment and project development of AMMG’s Western Australian based Canning Basin coal project". Anhui Lianghuai Resources is an Australian registered wholly owned subsidiary of the Anhui Provincial Bureau of Coal and Geology of China. The project appears to have been quietly shelved. In AMMG's quarterly activities report for until the end of December, Canning Coal didn't even rate a mention. The silence on Canning Coal continued in the quarterly activity report for the March quarter, and rated only a passing mention in the June activity report. and nothing in the September report.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Australia and coal
 * Australian Coal Association
 * Proposed coal projects in the Kimberley, Western Australia
 * New South Wales and coal
 * Queensland and coal
 * South Australia and coal
 * Victoria and coal
 * Coal terminals