Greenvale Energy has started a new phase of drilling at its Alpha torbanite project, with 25 HQ core holes and 15 open holes planned.

The company said the core holes were designed to increase the size and confidence levels in the Alpha mineral resource, which stands at 18.6Mt, including cannel coal tonnages.

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The open holes are designed to test the continuity of the upper and lower seams to the south and to the west of the deposit, potentially laying the foundations for an increase in the overall size of the resource.

BG Drilling has been engaged to complete the 2000m drill program, which is expected to take about 55 days to complete.

“We are really excited to have the team out in the field at Alpha with the first major drill program at the project now underway since our Phase 1 program back in 2021,” Greenvale Energy chief executive officer Mark Turner said.

“This is a pivotal drilling campaign in a number of respects. It will, firstly, give us a significant amount of geological, structural and technical data that will allow us to improve confidence levels in the current inferred resource and calculate an indicated resource to support feasibility work.

“It has also been designed to target potential extensions of the deposit to the south and west where we have identified clear potential to grow the overall scale of the resource.

“Finally, it will provide important geotechnical data to facilitate mine design.”

The company also has further liquefaction test work on bulk samples from Alpha to gauge and enhance the potential of the deposit to produce bitumen for the domestic market in Australia.

With Test Program Four in full swing, building on the outstanding results reported from Test Program Three in May, Mr Turner said the company was continuing to advance the project towards development on multiple fronts.

“This is an exciting time for Greenvale as we begin to build momentum towards the back end of the year,” he said.

Located about 50km south of the town of Alpha, the Alpha torbanite deposit consists of two seams – an upper seam of cannel coal with an average thickness of 1.12m and a lower seam of cannel coal containing a lens of torbanite with a thickness of up to 1.9m.