The company – whose Springsure project in the Bowen Basin is due to come into production in 2015 – does not have the baggage of existing producers whose business models are now being downsized, Pegler told the company’s annual general meeting.

“We are, and will continue for some time, to be a business in transition,” he said.

“We are no longer simply a coal explorer and we are not yet a coal producer. One benefit of this position is that, unlike existing producers in Australia and Indonesia especially, we do not have an inheritance of uncompetitive cost structures to unravel. Bandanna Energy can start from a clean sheet.”

A process of renewal is underway for the board and management teams of the company, Pegler said.

“The new management team is working with investors, potential partners and funders, government, community and landowners, to tell Bandanna's story and to explain what we are here to achieve for our shareholders and for the communities in which we operate,” he said.

“Board renewal is a process which began with my appointment and will continue into 2013.”

Bandanna’s new managing director, Michael Gray, started in his new role in March. His task is to remain focused on coal market opportunities from 2015 that are aligned with Bandanna’s plans to bring the Springsure Creek project into production, supported by a smaller project at Dingo West.

Gray is also expected to guide the company’s participation in the South Galillee coal project.

Following a capital raising in 2011 and commencement of a bank guarantee facility in 2012 that freed up cash previously securing bank guarantees, Bandanna is funded to complete its current approvals processes and studies, Pegler said.

But project development funding remains a work in progress.

“We are actively involved in discussions here and abroad about potential joint ventures and project sell-downs, notably in relation to the Springsure Creek project,” Pegler said.

“We are alive to the challenges of securing equity and debt funding in the current economic climate, but we are confident that Springsure Creek provides an excellent springboard for investment based on certainty of competitive coal supply for the right partner.”