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Bathurst Resources said customers wanted long-term assurance of supply.
photo: Photo courtesy Bathurst Resources Ltd.
Bathurst Resources, Australia’s largest coal miner, will need another 20 years of development work.
It will use a fast-track approval process to build two new projects adjacent to the existing site to supply local and export markets.
Bathurst Resources CEO Richard Tacon said 90 per cent of its sales came from coking coal. In steelmakingSome of the coal is supplied to the domestic market for industrial heating.
Pre-feasibility work is currently underway on the Buller Plateau on the west coast of the South Island to produce coal for steelmaking and export overseas.
Another project at an early stage is the Rotowaro expansion project near Huntly to mine coal for domestic use.
Tacon said its customers want long-term supply guarantees.
“We are very optimistic. We have strong support from the government back home and prices are enabling us to raise capital and move into these new areas,” he said.
“For our local communities, tribes and our customers, if we can arrange for 15 to 20 years of follow-up, then they will have more security when making other economic decisions.”
Tacon said the recent surge in electricity and natural gas prices has had a positive impact on the company, which is working to secure a contract to supply Genesis Energy.
The company said export markets for steelmaking coal from India, South Korea, Japan and China remained strong.
The company also has interests in two Canadian coking coal exploration projects.
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