Stanmore has a handful of coking and thermal coal tenements throughout the coal bearing regions of the Surat and Bowen basins in central Queensland.

The Range is Stanmore’s flagship project, with first coal from the project tipped for 2015.

The tenement is located 25km southeast of Wandoan and is in close proximity to the planned Surat Basin rail line.

During the March 2012 quarter, Stanmore completed an interim review of The Range which resulted in a 22% increase in the JORC inferred resource and a 14% increase in total JORC resource to 260 million tonnes.

Stanmore also received a $A1.2 million grant from a Japanese government agency to progress drilling at The Range.

A bankable feasible study for The Range kicked off during the quarter, with more than 2800m of drilling completed since the drilling program started.

The BFS is required to upgrade the first three years of production from indicated to measured resource status and will consider the viability of a 5 million tonne per annum operation over 26 years.

The explorer also submitted two mining lease applications over a transport corridor which would enable a connection between the proposed minesite of The Range and a planned rail load-out facility adjacent to the Surat Basin.

In addition, Stanmore lodged an environmental impact statement study on The Range project during the quarter.

Stanmore said the project remained on track for first coal in 2015, subject to regulatory approvals being attained and finalisation of third party infrastructure.

It also upped the ante on its other coal projects during the March quarter.

The company’s Kerlong coking coal project is located 8km north of the rail line to Dalrymple Bay coal terminal.

Stanmore is targeting high quality underground coking and pulverised coal injection coal at the project, with an initial exploration program at the tenement launched during the quarter.

The drilling program would continue throughout 2012.

On the infrastructure front, Stanmore said it continued to work closely with the Wiggins Island coal export terminal management team to complete due diligence procedures which it anticipated would result in about 5Mtpa of port capacity being offered to The Range.

During the quarter, the company also received confirmation from the Surat Basin rail joint venture that it had satisfied due diligence requirements, paving the way for Stanmore to be offered capacity on the rail line.

However, the rail capacity forecast to be given to Stanmore is based on WICET confirming Stanmore has corresponding capacity for The Range.