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The Columboola Joint Venture (JV), between SinoCoal Resources Pty Ltd (51%) and Metro Mining Ltd (49%), was established in late 2010. The JV consists of Mineral Development Licence (MDL) 3003, MDL 3038 and Exploration Permit for Coal (EPC) 1165 which surrounds the MDLs. SinoCoal Resources Pty Ltd is the Australian subsidiary of the China Coal Group based in Beijing, China. Metro Mining Ltd is a listed company on the ASX (ASX Code MMI). MDL 3003, the subject of this annual report, is managed by the Columboola JV.

The Columboola JV Project covers the central east of the Surat Basin in South East Queensland. MDL 3003 is located 25 km west of Chinchilla. The Project area covers the Juandah and Taroom Coal Measures within the Jurassic Walloon Sub-group from 100 m to 800 m depth.

Work done by the JV, and previous explorers, had identified thermal coal resources of 1,757.6 Mt in 2012 within the JV area, at both Indicated and Inferred levels of confidence primarily within the Macalister Upper Seam. Following a partial relinquishment of the southern part of EPC 1165 the total resource was re-estimated in 2018 at 1,216.6 Mt. A portion of these resources mainly at the Indicated level, including a potentially open-cuttable resource at Goombi, is now covered by MDL 3003 which was granted to the JV on 28th August 2017.

Previous work within the area of the MDL, prior to grant, has consisted of extensive drilling programs to quantify the prospective Juandah and Taroom Coal Measures and investigate identified areas where seams are thick, continuous and correlatable.

Work undertaken during the third year of tenure of MDL 3003 has consisted of a review of data Coal Seam Gas (CSG) wells across the JV area and an updating of the coal resource. These data became available in the public domain since the previous resource estimate. Eleven of the fifty-two wells lie within MDL 3003.