Solid Energy finds saleable coal at Ohai Mine

23 June 2011

Solid Energy finds saleable coal at Ohai Mine

Solid Energy is starting a small scale mining operation at its Ohai Opencast Mine following the discovery of saleable coal during rehabilitation of the site.

Solid Energy Southland Mine Manager, Antony Stodart, says that Solid Energy had identified a block of coal on the northern side of the Ohai Coal Mining Licence and currently intended to extract about 50,000 tonnes.

“As we have said in the past, if we found saleable coal at Ohai we would make it available to the South Island market. As a result of this, we are planning to start coal sales by early to mid-August.

“It’s early days yet, but this is going to be a very small mining operation, with some ongoing exploration yet to be completed.

“The good news is we are advertising this weekend for up to eight new positions based at Ohai and at our New Vale Mine in Eastern Southland, to support initial operations,” Mr Stodart says.

The operations would include bagging coal for the domestic market, with the company’s first priority being the Southland market until it finalised exploration drilling results, to indicate any further reserves.

Solid Energy closed Ohai Mine in June 2009 and is currently rehabilitating the site to meet the condition of its Coal Mining Licence. The key objectives of the three-year rehabilitation programme, which started earlier this year, are to stabilise the pit walls, extinguish an historic fire in the old underground mine workings and to ensure that the pit can hold water in the lake that will be created.

ENDS

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