Bathurst Resources has received the paperwork it requires to begin operations to move its Escarpment mine project in New Zealand into production. Work will only begin at the metallurgical coal mine, however, once global metallurgical coal prices recover.
About 35,000 t of coal are expected to be recovered in the first six months of site work.
This follows the receipt of the Authority to Enter and Operate (AEO) for the project from the landowner – the Department of Conservation (DOC).
Initial works will involve site clearing, establishing initial water management dams and drainage systems, installation of coal stockpile areas, site roads and basic infrastructure including a site office and amenities.
Coal production areas will be cleared and other earthworks will be undertaken to prepare the site to transition to steady state operations.
Coal recovered in the initial construction phase will be sold into the domestic industrial market.
Some coal will also be dispatched for trials to coke and steel producers in Japan, India and other Asian markets.
The initial construction phase is also an important first step towards developing a full-scale export metallurgical coal operation at the Escarpment project.
Edited from various sources by Sam Dodson