Anti-coal campaigners in the Southern Highlands are not likely to be pleased with Cockatoo Coal's recent ASX announcement, which almost quadruples the amount of coal in the company's permit area.
Cockatoo said in a statement that its Hume Coal project now has a total resource of 446 million tonnes of coking coal, up from the previous 115 million tonnes.
Almost half that amount, 209.4 million tonnes, was deemed to be an "indicated" resource, which is a mid-range classification meaning the company is reasonably confident about its commercial potential.
The remaining 241 million tonnes was classified as being an "inferred" resource, which is the lowest level of confidence.
The company has yet to determine its mineral "reserves", which is the highest classification of confidence and shows how much coal can be mined economically.
The reserve quantity was expected to be lower than the 446 million tonnes announced last week.
The new data has come from the company's aerial mapping and on-the-ground exploration drilling, which was ongoing.
"The project's coking coal exhibits strong metallurgical properties of very low phosphorus, high CSN and good fluidity," the statement said.
"The resource is no longer limited to a minimum coal thickness cut off of 2.0m and therefore extends over a greater area than previously reported.
"Ongoing review of historical cored holes in concert with the incorporation of validated data provides the company with increasing confidence in the extent, continuity and quality of the resource."
Cockatoo owns 30 per cent of the Hume Coal project, with the remainder held by South Korea's POSCO, which is fifth-largest steel producer by output in the world.
If a mine is developed in the Southern Highlands, the coal would most likely be transported to Port Kembla by rail.
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