Coal & Allied also received a 1156-hectare parcel of land in the Gunnedah region from Whitehaven as part of the transaction.

The Vickery coal project encompasses authorisation 406, coal lease 316, about 3450ha of associated land and 399 megalitres per year of water licences.

Whitehaven will focus its exploration efforts on the prospective Bluevale open cut area of the project, which contains 4.95 million tonnes of measured, indicated and inferred resources.

Of the nine coal seams in the Vickery tenements, the Shannon Harbour, Stratford and Cranleigh seams are seen as the most promising.

“The quality of these coal seams ranges from high-volatile soft coking coal to low-ash, high-energy thermal coal,” Whitehaven managing director Tony Haggarty said.

Vickery, 18km southeast of Boggabri and 25km north of Gunnedah, hosted an open cut mine which produced 6Mt per annum of thermal coal from 1991 to 1996.

Whitehaven has the Vickery tenement surrounded with its recently closed Canyon mine to the north, an exploration lease to the northwest and its Rocglen mine to the east.

Whitehaven plans to define substantial open cut and underground coal resources and reserves in the project area.

Coal & Allied said it would pocket $22 million in profit after tax.

Shares in Whitehaven are down 5.3% this morning as Australian stocks follow big falls overseas last night.

Coal & Allied shares are down 70c to $81.99.