1.2.3.1.9 Alpha West Coal Project

The Alpha West coal deposit occurs immediately west of the proposed Alpha thermal coal mine development near the eastern edge of the central Galilee Basin. Similar to Alpha Coal Project, the 1.8 billion tonnes of identified high quality thermal coal resource at the Alpha West coal deposit are owned by Hancock Coal, a joint venture between GVK (79%) and Hancock Prospecting (21%). Mineral development licence (MDL) 285 covers the Alpha West resource, and an initial concept study for future mining operations was completed in 2012 (Mulder, 2013).

The concept plan indicates that Alpha West could be developed as a large underground mining complex that would target the same coal seams planned to be mined up-dip (to the east) from open-cut pits at Alpha mine. Multiple longwall operations are likely to be the optimal mining method, producing 16 to 24 Mt/year for export markets (the actual amount will depend on the number of longwall mines developed). Depending upon approvals applications and the timing of construction, current planning by Hancock Coal is for initial mining to begin in 2018. A 30 year (or longer) mine life is expected (Mulder, 2013).

Development of the Alpha West Coal Project will depend on access to rail and port infrastructure set to be developed by the GVK Hancock joint venture for the Alpha mine.