Company looks for coal in Avondale

THE search for coal has begun in the Kolan area with exploration having started on a property at Avondale and with rumours of further investigations at Rosedale.

Guildford Coal, a Newcastle-based company with interests in Hughenden and Monto, confirmed to the NewsMail yesterday they had two exploration permits for coal in the Kolan area, about 20km north-west of Bundaberg and 160km south of Gladstone.

Chief operating officer Mark Turner said exploration had already begun.

“We are hoping to find enough resources to support an underground mine, although it is very early days,” Mr Turner said.

“We are at an exploration level and are working out exactly where the coal is located.”

The exploration permits are for about 164sq km, with more than 85sq km covered by the Kolan Barrage Catchment area.

While the catchment area was established to ensure preservation of water quality, it won’t affect exploration or subsequent mining.

Guildford Coal is hoping the area has potential for an open cut minable resource that is low ash, high energy coal and high quality coking coal, but Mr Turner said no substantial amounts of coal had been found.

Guildford Coal, which has a diversified portfolio of assets across Queensland’s coal basins, is also preparing a scoping paper for the project, which will include an initial advice statement, terms of reference and environmental impact statement.

The NewsMail spoke to Avondale and Rosedale residents who said although they were either aware of or had been notified of the exploration, they did not believe substantial amounts of coal would be located.

“Everyone knew there were tiny amounts of coal here, my dad said 40-50 years ago that the company who owned the lease had looked around but found nothing,” one resident said.

“We got a letter four or five years ago that said a new owner had purchased the lease, but from what I’ve heard they haven’t found very much in our area and are moving on to Rosedale.”

Another resident said they had received a letter recently saying the company was interested in having a look around his property in Rosedale and those surrounding it.