Perth (Platts)--29Nov2012/428 am EST/928 GMT

Australia's OGL Resources has completed a feasibility study which confirmed its plan to ship up to 1.5 million mt/year of coal through the Queensland port of Brisbane was "economically and practically feasible," said the coal company in a statement Thursday.

OGL Resources is looking to join ranks of coal producers using Brisbane port, including New Hope Corp. and Yancoal Australia, by shipping 6,660 kcal/kg gross as received and 14% ash thermal coal from its reactivated Ebenezer mine located about 85 km west of Brisbane's Fisherman Island coal terminal.

The feasibility study was commissioned by the company in May, and evaluated the economic feasibility of handling, stockpiling and shipping an initial 600,000 mt/year and later 1.5 million mt/year of Ebenezer thermal coal through the Brisbane coal terminal.

p> Article continues below...

Request a free trial of: International Coal Report
	International Coal Report and its daily companion, Coal Trader International, deliver expert and respected price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and Pacific markets including price assessments for European CIF ARA, FOB Newcastle, Richards Bay and Indonesia.

The company said its study confirmed the Brisbane coal terminal, which has a current coal shipment capacity for 10 million mt/year and is due to expand in the years ahead, could accommodate 1.5 million mt/year of OGL coal exports.

"The combination of low cost of production and high quality coal product from the Ebenezer mine with access to transport and port has OGL Resources in an exceptional position to become Australia's next export coal producer," said OGL managing director and chief executive, Allan Fidock.

OGL's next step is to develop a commercial access agreement with the operator of the Fisherman Island coal terminal, Queensland coal producer New Hope Corp., said OGL in its statement released to the Australian Securities Exchange.

The coal company has held talks with Queensland state-owned rail operator, Queensland Rail about running coal trains on its Western rail system to Brisbane port, and with New Hope Corp. to use its coal terminal.

A target date for first export sales of Ebenezer thermal coal of the second half of 2013 has been set by the coal company.

OGL purchased the then dormant Ebenezer mine, together with the nearby Bremer View coal tenement from Zedemar Holdings for A$50 million in May 2011.

Ebenezer mine had been operated by Japanese trading company Idemitsu and closed in 2003 because of low coal prices -- about $20/mt at the time, said OGL in a company presentation.

--Mike Cooper, michael_cooper@platts.com --Edited by Haripriya Banerjee, haripriya_banerjee@platts.com

Tweet