The property, which encompasses 7695 mineral acres, also includes a CSX rail load facility and the Andy rail terminal.

Officials for Greek-headquartered NewLead said that its recently received reserve reported has estimated the mine’s new present value at about $US108 million, and projected that proven and probable reserves at Five Mile total approximately 8 million tons.

The transfer of mine ownership is expected to be completed by the end of this year, and NewLead said that the operation should begin to generate revenue during this year’s first quarter, once production starts.

“The close proximity of the CSX rail load facility to the mine allows for reduced transportation costs, which we believe provides a competitive advantage,” chairman and chief executive officer Michael Zolotas said.

“In combination with the acquisition of the Viking mine and the wash plant in Kentucky, we are developing scale in our business."

In December, the company confirmed that it had wrapped up its purchase of a coal washing facility from an unnamed seller.

Processing averages at the facility since April 2011 have been about 59,000t per month and a contract is in place for the processing of up to 150,000tpa of coal on request.

The contract is scheduled to expire in June 2016.

NewLead trades common shares on the NASDAQ GSM under NEWL.