Coal Exports: Buller Coal Transport Options Still Up In The Air
August 18th, 2010
Port Taranaki hasn’t heard whether Bathurst Resources Ltd, managers of the Buller Coal Project, are likely to barge the high quality coking coals from the West Coast to its New Plymouth facility for export. The Aust-based miner recently revealed a significant upgrade in estimates of the quantity which can be extracted from its 10,000ha exploration permit. Following exploratory drilling under a “definitive feasibility study,” Bathurst has announced a lift to 42.2m tonnes of coal from a May announcement of 7.3m tonnes.
Port Taranaki CEO Roy Weaver says feasibility for the project is as much about transporting the coal as mining it. One Bathurst option is to use KiwiRail to transport the coal across the Southern Alps for shipping out of Lyttelton, the other to load barges at somewhere like Westport, and then trans-ship the coal at New Plymouth. There are no deepwater ports on the West Coast capable of accommodating Panamax ships which require a 12 metre draft. Weaver says “the fact Pike River and Solid Energy with its Strongman mine have already had to face the issue of transport means this isn’t a first.”
Port Taranaki has had informal talks with Bathurst, but Weaver says the Aussie company is carrying out its own feasibility study. Bathurst MD Hamish Bohannan says the company aims to be in production by the end of 2011 from an opencast mine with a lifespan of more than 30 years at an eventual 2m tonnes a year removal. Lyttelton Port is already in the process of preparing for larger coal shipments, with consent to enlarge its coal yards.
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