Reserves at Whitehaven Coal’s Winchester South lease in the Bowen Basin have been upgraded.

The company has released its updated JORC-Compliant Resources and Reserves Statement to the ASX.

The lease located between Moranbah and Dysart has JORC resources of 1,100Mt including 670Mt of Measured and Indicated Resources.

JORC reserves were upgraded to 360Mt from 350Mt reported in the 2020 statement. Around 60 percent of marketable reserves are made up of metallurgical coal.

It was another important milestone for the project which provided further confidence around resource definition and increases metallurgical coal tonnage and quality, Whitehaven Coal managing director and CEO Paul Flynn said. 

Competent Person

Whitehaven commissioned Xenith Consulting to update the previous Resources estimate for the Project, in accordance with the JORC Code.

Over 1,000 holes are now included in the Project geological model, including 41 recent holes drilled by Whitehaven in 2021 for detailed pre-treatment, washability, and product coal analysis, gas studies and structural delineation.

The Rangal and Fort Cooper Coal Resources are shallow and are considered the primary open cut mining target. 

Their depth is predominantly less than 150m and are well drilled and understood. The Moranbah Coal Resources are found at a minimum depth of around 400m and are considered a potential secondary, underground mining target. 

Project Coal Resources total 1,100Mt, comprising 340Mt in the Measured Category, 330Mt in the Indicated Category and 445Mt in the Inferred Category. There is a total of 860Mt included in this Resources estimate for the open cut seams, and 255Mt for the underground seams. 

 Step forward for $1b Winchester South mine

Compared to the 2020 Resources estimate, total open cut Resources have increased by 1.8 percent, from 845 to 860Mt. 

However, Resources in the Measured Category increased materially from 175 to 340Mt, primarily due to the re-classification of the VML seam. 

The project continues to progress through the Queensland Government’s Coordinated Project approval process. 

Photo at top: geologist sampling coal at Winchester South