Vitrinite Pty Ltd has been named the preferred tenderer and can now apply for an exploration permit over 35 square kilometres of land near Clermont in North Queensland.
The area is adjacent to Vitrinite’s existing Karin Basin project on the western flank of the Bowen Basin. This gives the junior explorer the added potential to join the next pipeline of metallurgical coal projects in Queensland.
Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, the Hon. Dr Anthony Lynham, said that this shows is there is room for small and big players in Queensland’s vibrant $46 billion coal industry.
“Industry is showing a high level of confidence in Queensland’s coal sector with $128 million invested in exploration in 2018 – a 42 per cent increase over the previous year,” he said.
“As well, there is record demand for our high-quality metallurgical coal with an increase of more than 12 per cent over the past financial year.”
“Junior explorers like Vitrinite play an important role in our industry by investing in exploration which helps sustain future supply and grow the 36,000 jobs in the coal sector,” the Minister added.
Vitrinite’s Executive Director, Nicholas Williams, said the partners in the Karin Joint Venture were pleased the Queensland Government had granted the company additional exploration blocks contiguous with their Karin coking coal deposit.
“We have already discovered some of the most exciting coal qualities in Australian history and expect to continue this trend within this land package,” he said.
Vitrinite must meet environmental, native title, and other approvals, as well as land access requirements before on-ground exploration can start.