Recently completed drilling and modelling has resulted in two JORC-compliant inferred resources totalling 95.8Mt at strip ratios of less than 8:1.

“The Tin Hut Creek deposit (63.3Mt inferred) and Bottle Tree (32.5Mt inferred) are considered to have significant future development potential, given their close proximity to the company’s Woori project, low strip ratios, and predominantly unconfined resource boundaries,” Cockatoo said.

The finds complement the previously announced Krugers and Davies Road inferred resources and provide scope for future development alongside Woori, which will begin mining with the commissioning of the Surat Basin Rail Link.

The Surat Basin Railway Joint Venture, which will build a 210km railway connecting the Western Railway System near Wandoan with the Moura Railway System near Banana, is expected to reach financial close at the end of this year, with commencement of operations in 2012.

Cockatoo’s Surat project covers about 3800 square kilometres. The Bottle Tree deposit consists of the Taroom coal measures and Tin Hut Creek comprises the Juandah coal measures.

Cockatoo said both deposits were open to the northeast, east and southeast and further drilling would increase the confidence of the resource and coal quality.

The Woori project, located 20km from the new deposits, also sits in the Juandah coal measures.

As part of the Woori prefeasibility study, Cockatoo has integrated further core, drilling and topography to increase the accuracy of the geological resource model.

This has reduced seam thickness and resource tonnes, and decreased raw ash from 26% to 22%.

Cockatoo closed up 10.8% yesterday at 36c.