Eastern Corp

COAL was discovered at the now tiny town of Nightcaps in New Zealand’s southland province in the 1870’s.

Now Eastern Corp (ECU) has decided it will go ahead with a deal to acquire a known resource in the Ohai-nightcaps coal field.

The company, which is already producing coal at its recently acquired Cascade mine on the South Island’s West coast, is also planning to buy a coal blending and distribution operation at Timaru, which is roughly equidistant between the two mine locations – and that city has a deepwater port suitable for coal exports.

Mining will start at Nightcaps next month with the aim of producing 100,000 tonnes a year for industrial consumers.

Meanwhile, Eastern expects by the end of the year to complete a feasibility study on the Broughton coal project, in the Bowen Basin, where it has a joint venture with Mitsui Coal.

The rail line to Dalrymple Bay runs through the Broughton tenement. Eastern is also targeting coal seam methane gas production in the Galilee Basin, Queensland.

Source: The Weekend Australian. Sept 9-10 2006. Compiled by Robin Bromby.