Australia's Bathurst eager to develop Westport coal mine

Solid Energy's Stockton mine is nearby. Photo / Supplied

Australian mining company Bathurst Resources intends listing on the NZX this year as part of a US$60 million ($86 million) plan to develop an opencast coal mine near Westport.

The company plans to export up to two million tonnes of coal from the mine next to Solid Energy's Stockton operation as part of a joint venture with Christchurch energy explorer L&M.

If the NZX listing goes ahead, it would be the second listed coal miner operating in New Zealand, the other being Pike River Coal further south. The Perth company has been listed on the ASX since 2007 and has just raised $19 million for initial spending on the project including research aimed at proving additional coal resources.

L&M agreed to sell its subsidiary L&M Coal to Bathurst, but will retain a 5 per cent share.

Bathurst says the project is fully funded at present and does not anticipate having to go back to the market until it seeks to complete the purchase of the Buller project, requiring a payment of US$35 million.

Bathurst's managing director, Hamish Bohannan said that because many of the Australian stock exchange requirements were common to New Zealand, he did not expect listing here to be too difficult.

More than 200 jobs could be created and the company hoped the mine would have a life of more than 30 years.

"Our game plan is to be in production by the end of next year and be producing up to two million tonnes per annum. This is not a 10-year wonder."

The company has reported an initial proven resource of 7.3 million tonnes of coal for the first stage of the project.

The company is now exiting its US mining operations in Kentucky.

"We see this as being the flagship of the company. We'll list in New Zealand and I'll relocate to Christchurch," Bohannan said.

About 85 per cent would be the higher-value coking coal, which is used to fire furnaces used in steel production.

Capital spending to set the mine up was "reasonably high", he said. The company would build a wash plant, a pipeline to take coal off the escarpment and possibly modifying the port at Westport.

The transport chain had not yet been finalised but options included taking coal by barge to New Plymouth for export or by rail to Lyttelton.

"Bathurst is putting up the money, over the next two years our role increases, theirs diminishes," Bohannan said.

Timing depended on the resource consent process.

Conservationists have raised concerns that the mine could threaten endangered species, such as native snails and great spotted kiwi.

"Doing a job like this is not without its challenge. We're in the same spot as Stockton so although we haven't found any snails I'm sure we will, we haven't found any kiwi but I'm sure we will."