The surge from Cockatoo’s previous closing price of A3c per share to the intraday high of 3.6c forced the Australian Securities Exchange to issue a price query, with Cockatoo’s shares later falling to 3.4c for a 13% gain by 4pm AEDT.

Cockatoo expects its shares-based acquisition of Blackwood will help maximise “operating and financial synergies”

“I believe that our combined company is well positioned to continue the expansion of our current Baralaba mine on time and on budget and to rationalise and realise value from our extensive portfolio of additional assets,” Cockatoo managing director Andrew Lawson said.

“Cockatoo, with the integration of the Blackwood employees, has a management and workforce which I believe is extremely capable and eminently able to deliver value to all of our shareholders in 2014 and beyond.”

Blackwood holds 17 underexplored Australian coal projects and previously attracted takeover interest from former coal magnate Nathan Tinkler.

Last year Blackwood set 322 million tonnes 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.

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