Cokal’s shares jumped from A49c on February 22 to an intra-day high of 61c on February 29.

As well as the jump in the company’s share price, the ASX also noticed an increase in the volume of shares traded.

Responding to the query, Cokal said its shareholders were reacting to a recent spate of positive company news released to the market.

Following a recent investor roadshow, Cokal said it had evidence of a “marked step-up in investor interest in Cokal and its projects.”

February proved to be a busy time for Cokal, including the release of an investor presentation which detailed its positive progress in coal prospects and would enable the company to transform to a metallurgical coal producer by mid-2013.

Cokal also completed tranche 2 of the $A20 million private placement to Blackwood Investment Management.

The placement has provided Cokal with sufficient funding to complete significant exploration programs on its handful of coal projects, leading them into development stage.

The company also received positive results from a barge scoping study on its flagship Bumi Barito Mineral coal project in Indonesia.

An analysis found barging was able to provide an internationally competitive logistics solution with the potential to move the coal from the Upper Barito River to ship loading.

The BBM project is located in central Kalimantan, adjacent to the Barito River.

Following the completion of the barge scoping study, the company has commenced a pre-feasibility on the project, which has a maiden inferred resource of 60 million tonnes.

To date, the drilling program at Bumi Barito has confirmed the presence of high-quality premium metallurgical coal at the site.