Coalworks’ Vickery South project is near Aston’s Maules Creek mine.

At Coalworks’ annual general meeting on Friday, Tinkler – who is a 19.9% shareholder of the company – joined forces with fellow shareholder Macquarie to oust two of the company’s directors and defeat five out of six motions.

Director Ian Craig – who was appointed to the Coalworks board when Tinkler’s Boardwalk Resources took its stake in Coalworks in February – was voted back.

Two other directors – David Smith and Sin Pyng Teng – lost their re-election bids and motions to increase remuneration for directors were also defeated.

Coalworks entered into a JV agreement with Boardwalk Ferndale Pty Ltd, a Nathan Tinkler-controlled company, which allows Boardwalk to acquire a 50% holding in EL7430 (Ferndale), by spending up to $A25 million to fund a bankable feasibility study for an open cut mine and a pre-feasibility study for an underground mine.

At the end of the 2011 financial year, expenditure totalled $1.8 million and the JV, which is being managed by Boardwalk, expected production to begin in 2016.

“It appears we can successfully initially target an open cut mine and conceptual studies for underground and open cut are scheduled for the end of December 2011,” Coalworks chairman Wayne Mitchell told the AGM.

Vickery South, a coking and export thermal coal project in the Gunnedah Basin of NSW, has Japanese group Itochu as a JV partner.

Itochu is also a shareholder of Aston Resources.

“Our joint venture partner, Itochu, completed the expenditure of $5 million to earn 29% and has now agreed to proceed to a bankable feasibility study by spending a further $6 million to increase its equity holding to 49%,” Mitchell said.

“The preliminary feasibility is now complete (prepared by Minarco-Mine consult) and based upon exporting 2-3 million tonnes per annum, the model produces a range of positive [net present values] of between $159 million [and] $323 million on an 8-10% discount rate.

“Negotiation on port and rail capacity continues – we expect to be in a position to export coal within 2015.”