The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency notified the Vancouver-based producer that it and the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office had finalized a memorandum of understanding to enable the substitution provisions under provincial law efficiently.

Additionally, the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas granted Cardero authorization for its geotechnical drill program at the Peace River coal district property.

The program entails 16 total shallow geotechnical drillholes and 16 shallow trenches, all for geotechnical analysis and assessment of site suitability.

Eight of the holes will be kept and maintained as groundwater monitoring wells and the company said the other disturbances would be reclaimed and revegetated.

The start of the program is pending the receipt of necessary funding.

“Feasibility-level design of surface facilities for the Carbon Creek project will be completed as part of the bankable feasibility study presently underway,” officials said.

“Geotechnical drilling will provide confirmation that the area selected for these facilities is suitable for construction of the coal processing plant, covered stockpiles, conveyors and ancillary buildings.”

The company said the complex’s surface facilities would be erected at the northern portion of the Carbon Creek site, close to Carbon Inlet where the operation’s clean coal will be loaded onto a barge for transportation on the Williston Reservoir to the Mackenzie railhead.

Carbon Creek, considered to be Cardero’s flagship asset, has a reserve of 121 million tonnes within a 468Mt measured and indicated resource of ASTM rank medium-volatile bituminous coal.

The company acquired Carbon Creek in June 2011 and released an independent preliminary economic assessment for the planned complex in December that year.

A prefeasibility study was completed last September.

Cardero trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under ticker symbol CDU, the New York Stock Exchange under CDY and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as CR5.