Ownership
The Spring Creek Project consists of EPC 1197. It is currently held by Waitara Coal Pty Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandanna. The Company intends to rename this project Wanella in order to avoid any confusion with the Springsure Creek Project discussed above.
Location and Infrastructure
The project is located approximately 150 km southwest of Mackay. The township of Coppabella is located on the eastern boundary of the permit. The Coppabella, Moorvale and Carborough Downs mines are adjacent to the permit.
Access is via the Peak Downs Highway, which runs through the southern section of the permit in an east-west direction. The Peak Downs – Hay Point rail line parallels the highway, connecting to the Port of Dalrymple Bay, 130 km to the northeast. The Norwich Park rail line branches off to the south through the southern portion of the permit. The major centre of Moranbah is located 40 km to the west along the Peak Downs Highway. Nebo is 50 km to the north-west and the Coppabella Colliery is located to the east of the permit.
Figure 10: Location of Spring Creek Project
Previous Exploration
Very little exploration has been done within the bounds of EPC 1197. However, a number of seismic lines and intersecting boreholes in the vicinity of the exploration permit as shown in Figure 11 allow a good overall picture of the underlying geology. A number of nearby boreholes also reported coal quality of the intersected seams. To compliment this drilling program, several seismic lines were also shot between 1991 and 1993 in the area surrounding the project.
A recent data trade with Arrow Energy Ltd that included newer seismic sections, indicates that there is considerable faulting within the lease area and that the displacement on the major Coppabella West Fault appeared to be fairly constant along its length within the permit. The top of the Leichhardt Seam is expected to be found at depths of between 500 metres and 600 metres throughout the entire permit.
Figure 11: Boreholes and Seismic Lines in the Vicinity of the Spring Creek Project
Resource Estimate
No resource estimate has yet been carried out for the project.
Six exploration holes have been drilled within the vicinity of the permit. Coal intersections in these holes are provided in Table 18 below.
Table 18: Seam Thicknesses in the vicinity of the Spring Creek Project
| Well |
Seam |
Depth (m) |
Thickness (m) |
| Annandale-1S |
Leichhardt
Vermont |
403.2
470.2 |
5.0
3.8 |
| Annandale-2S |
Leichhardt
Vermont Upper |
329.7
392.5 |
4.7
3.2 |
| Annandale-3 |
Leichhardt
Vermont |
336.7
396.5 |
4.5
3.2 |
| Strathfield-1 |
Leichhardt
Vermont |
173.6
228.2 |
6.7
6.8 |
| Carborough-1S |
Leichhardt
Vermont Upper |
366.3
449.6 |
1.8
5.2 |
| Harrybrandt-1 |
Leichhardt
Leichhardt Upper
Vermont Upper
Vermont Lower |
631.4
671.4
755.0
759.0 |
2.3
3.3
1.1
1.3 |
Coal Quality
No coal quality results from the project area have yet been obtained.
Two coal samples from the Leichhardt seam in the nearby Annandale-1 hole were analysed and the results are summarised in Table 19.
Table 19: Analyses of the Leichhardt Seam, Annandale No. 1.
| Leichhardt Interval |
402.25m - 403.75m
|
403.75m - 405.25m |
| Max Reflectance (%V) |
1.27 |
1.28 |
Ash (%)
Volatile Matter (%)
Fixed Carbon (%)
Sulphur (%) |
11
21.5
66.8
0.30 |
15.3
20.5
63.5
0.26 |