“This MOU is the next step in demonstrating the viability of a large-scale multi-pit development in the Northern Galilee Basin through utilisation of existing and expanded rail and port infrastructure,” the company said in a statement.

The Newcastle-based miner’s 16,500sq.km Galilee Basin project has a JORC inferred resource of 623 million tonnes of thermal coal.

As the project comes more into focus, Guildford has begun studies in support of the initial advice and environmental impact statements in preparation for a mining licence application.

This advancement also coincides with the appointment of Guildford to the North Queensland Supply Chain Steering Committee, established through $1.7 million in government funding to prioritise infrastructure projects and investment in the northwest of the state.

Guildford’s Northern Galilee coal project includes the White Mountain, Hughenden and Pentland deposits.

Hughenden holds an inferred JORC resource of 1.6 billion tonnes of thermal coal, while the less-developed Pentland tenement targets 295 million tonnes to 2.9 billion tonnes of coal with thermal potential.