Over a three-decade career Richards also worked for BP and Wesfarmers. He was most recently the managing director of Norfolk Group and remains on the boards of Sedgman Emeco, Bradken and NSL Consolidated.

Mining engineer Ruston remains on the board of AngloGold Ashanti and has worked for various Australian coal miners over a four-decade career, plus led a construction and mining contractor in Canada’s cost-sensitive oil sands sector.

Cockatoo’s takeover play for junior Blackwood Corporation, which has 17 underexplored Australian coal projects that once attracted former coal magnate Nathan Tinkler, is advancing with Cockatoo owning a 76.25% stake as of yesterday.

At its existing Baralaba operations in Queensland, Cockatoo is seeking federal environmental approval to develop a new northern pit to lift output from 1 million tonnes per annum to 3.5Mtpa over a mine life of 15 years.

Last year Blackwood set 322Mt of maiden inferred resources at its South Pentland project in the Galilee Basin and 51.8Mt set at the Taroom project in the Surat Basin.

Blackwood also struck shallow coal of pulverised coal injection-metallurgical quality through a scout drilling program at its Dingo project in the Bowen Basin.

The project is west of Cockatoo’s Dingo project and located 30km northwest of the Baralaba mine.