Bounty said this find was encouraging for the thin-seam project while the other Birthday Plains-targeted exploration hole was abandoned due to difficult conditions and will be used for groundwater monitoring.

Subsequent testing of the 100% core recovered, Birthday Plains-located Bathurst seam find revealed it had excellent coking coal properties with a crucible swelling number of 9.

Washability tests, with the air-dried seam having 19.3% ash content, found that it could produce a 7-8% ash (ad) coking coal product at a high yield rate of 78%.

“The data to date confirms the existence of a potentially mineable shallow seam in the Birthday Plains area that can be washed at high yield to a low ash, moderate sulphur, high CSN coking coal product,” Bounty chairman Gary Cochrane said.

“Product qualities determined to date are consistent with a premium hard coking coal. Further coke oven test work is underway to determine coke strength properties.”

Bounty recently started phase two of a farm-in agreement to lift its stake of the indigenous-owned $A500 million project from 5% to 20%.

The shallow coal-based Laura Basin project, located about 150km north of Cairns, is targeting 1.5 million tonnes per annum of high quality coking coal and a potential mine life of at least 30 years.