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MetroCoal to kick off fresh drilling

METROCOAL awarded Depco Drilling the contract for a 30-hole program in its Surat Basin portfolio while the junior sets an exploration target of 2.5-3.5 billion tonnes by December 2011.

Blair Price
MetroCoal to kick off fresh drilling

The next wave of drilling will centre on MetroCoal’s Bundi, Miles North and Miles East projects in Queensland.

These areas are considered highly prospective for underground coal mining and also close to planned rail infrastructure.

“Depco have worked with MetroCoal previously and we are very pleased that the signing of this agreement is the next stage of our extensive exploration program,” MetroCoal chief executive Mike O’Brien said.

“We have already announced an initial resource in the Bundi Project area and we look forward to continuing to build an extensive mining resource portfolio in addition to the UCG resource established in the Juandah Project area last year.”

MetroCoal announced an initial inferred resource of 58 million tonnes at the Bundi project in late January, based on data from Queensland Mines and Energy, data swaps with other companies and MetroCoal’s own drilling program.

O’Brien was general manager of the South Bulli longwall mine in 1991-92.

MetroCoal shares are up 7.9% to 20.5c this morning.

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