PERTH (miningweekly.com) - ASX-listed coal developer Stanmore Coal was set to start a bankable feasibility study (BFS) on its The Range project, in Queensland, following a positive prefeasibility study.

The developer said on Friday that the BFS would likely be completed by September this year.

“Undertaking the BFS is a key step on the path to production for The Range, which will increase our level of certainty around the financial and technical parameters of the project,” said Stanmore MD Nick Jorss.

The Range project contains a Joint Ore Reserves Committee (Jorc) reserve of 94-million tons, from a Jorc resource of 229-million tons of export quality thermal coal.

The BFS would consider both owner mining and contractor mining cases to produce some five-million tons a year of export coal, over a life-of-mine of 26 years. It was anticipated that first coal production would start in 2015, subject to statutory approvals being attained and completion of third-party infrastructure.

The environmental-impact statement would be completed by March this year, consistent with the requirements for the granting of a mining lease in early 2013.

Jorss noted that the BFS would build on the comprehensive prefeasibility study, which was completed in November last year, and would further define the design, specifications and costing for the entire project.

The prefeasibility study has previously estimated that capital cost requirements for the project would likely be around A$407-million for a contractor mining operation, and A$505-million for an owner mining operation, while estimating that the free-on-board operating costs would be around A$82/t for contractor and A$72/t for owner mining.

“Our aims for the project this year include finalising infrastructure access and funding arrangements prior to starting project construction in 2013,” said Jorss.

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