central petroleum spuds johnson west 1 well, page-15

LNC's deal wasn't coking coal Postie. It was bituminous thermal coal.

Nazzy, I didn't say the wells can't be used for coal JORC - they can. But the thing is a coal JORC only extends a maximum of 4km from a point of observation (ie a well) for the lowest category resource of Inferred.

So five wells doesn't give you a very big JORC. Most coal miners will drill dozens of holes, even hundreds, to prove up a few hundred million tons of coal. Another four wells won't make much difference either, it might add a few billion tons of deep stuff, but the exploration target is over 1 TRILLION tons, so this drilling program won't even make 1% of that.

dexter1,

I'm starting to share your concerns about the direction CTP is taking. A quick look at their website shows literally dozens of plays in the Amadeus. IMO every one of these wells should be punching down into a new play. It doesn't matter how good your geological analysis is, there's no substitute for punching down wells.

I think you're overestimating the cost a bit though, I'd say $5-6M each for Johnstone and Magee is realistic. Doesn't change the fact you're dead right, they are expensive wells and CTP can only afford a limited number of them.