An Australian company seeking to develop an open cut coal mine in the Buller region of the west coast of the South Island said its mine will have the highest safety and environmental standards once mining begins.At its annual meeting in Sydney today, Bath
An Australian company seeking to develop an open cut coal mine in the Buller region of the west coast of the South Island said its mine will have the highest safety and environmental standards once mining begins.
At its annual meeting in Sydney today, Bathurst Resources extended its thoughts and sympathy to the families of the 29 men killed at the Pike River Coal mine, referring to Pike as neighbours.
"It is at times like these that our focus is inevitably honed upon what remains the most important part of any mining operation -- its people, and our commitment is to ensure those people will return home safe at the end of every day," chairman Craig Munro said.
"To achieve this end Bathurst Resources has spent much time over the past year developing its policies and procedures and will operate to the highest safety and environmental standards once mining begins."
Bathurst listed on the ASX in 2007 with the intention of developing the Buller Coal Project in New Zealand it purchased from L&M Coal. It has an exploration target of 60 million to 90 million tonnes of coal.
Bathurst said today was well advanced in gaining regulatory approvals from government and expected to be able to announce in the very near future offtake agreements and offtake finance agreements with major corporations.
The company wants to start production in the fourth quarter of next year.
The Buller coalfield is one of the country's most significant fields, accounting for approximately half of New Zealand's coking coal. It is situated in an historical coal region close to ports and infrastructure and will provide the highest quality coking coal.
"Global interest in this project has identified significant demand for our product and we have a number of potential customers keen to take coal from our first production," Mr Munro said.
The company has recently appointed Marianne Rogers as general manager at Buller. She is a mining engineer and a lawyer, with extensive coal mining experience.
The meeting was told that Bathurst has raised more than $A100 million ($NZ129 million) in capital during 2010 and its market capitalisation stood at over $A350 million.
The company dual listed on the New Zealand stock exchange last week.
"We very recently entered into an agreement to acquire the Galilee project for $A35 million -- a project of strategic importance owing not only to its location in the middle of our Buller leases and its contribution to our resource base, but for its immediate ability to provide an operating business and positive cash flow," Mr Munro said.
Bathurst's operations will be completely different to Pike's in configuration, product and mining method. Bathurst's Buller project will be open cut, not underground.
"As such we do not face the same issues or circumstances," Mr Munro said.
