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At Eagle Downs in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, the feasibility studies have progressed with three additional mining scenarios evaluated for a 7 million tonne per annum coking coal mine.

Studies were also done on geotechnical, scheduling, ventilation, gas emission, drift design, product specification and key surface infrastructure and services.

The Eagle Downs feasibility study is expected to be completed by June 30 this year.

At Belvedere, in the southern Bowen Basin, Aquila undertook Australia’s largest single 3D seismic coal program, citing encouraging results.

The operator is assessing a 7-9Mtpa multi-longwall at the site.

At Washpool the Stage 3 exploration program was completed and a concept study is currently in progress.

A field program was not progressed at Aquila’s Red Hill coal project during the quarter due to landowner access trouble.

Exploration has progressed at the Asenjo Energy project with a prefeasibility study started.

At the company’s working Isaac Plains coal mine near Moranbah, Aquila brought on an additional mining contractor which is now working on a second box cut.

Run-of-mine production is now forecast at 1.9Mt for the current financial year.

Aquila is now waiting on approval of its environmental impact statement so it can develop the Isaac Plains South deposit and start construction on a dragline which will lift annual production at the mine to 3.4Mtpa.

Aquila’s sales for the six months to December 31 were down with a number of customer requests to defer shipments. Almost 200,000t was produced during the December quarter.

At the end of December, Aquila held foreign exchange hedging contracts totalling $US105 million at an average rate of US79.72 cents.

Aquila closed down 7.64% on Friday at $A2.54.