PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal hopeful Paringa Resources would start a technical study on a second mine at its Buck Creek operation, in the US, before releasing the results of a prefeasibility stud (PFS) on the first mine.
The Buck Creek mining complex includes the Buck Creek No 1 mine area, previously known as the Buck Creek mine, as well as the Buck Creek No 2 mine.
A PFS was currently under way for the Buck Creek No 1 mine, with results expected in the first quarter of 2015.
A previously completed scoping study found that for a capital investment of some $109-million, including a coal handling and processing plant and a barge load-out facility, Buck Creek No 1 could deliver 3.4-million tonnes of coal a year, over a 16-year mine life.
Paringa said on Thursday that the company would now start a technical study on the Buck Creek 2 mine, which had the potential to be a low-cost development given the shallow nature of the coal seam and the potential leverage off infrastructure from the Buck Creek No 1 mine.
The study would include a review of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee resource, mine production scenarios, transport and logistics, operating and capital cost evaluations and environmental and social assessments.
The company expected that cash flows from the Buck Creek No 1 mine, which was set to start construction in 2015, would fund the development of the Buck Creek No 2 mine.
Paringa was also assessing a number of other development opportunities within the Buck Creek complex, which would form part of a staged multi-project development programme.