Montrose

The Montrose Project is being developed by CuestaCoal for its thermal and coking coal export potential. The deposit, that is located between Mackay and Rockhampton in Queenslands coal rich Bowen Basin, is situated west of the town of Marlborough. The project is significant in that it has mining tenements covering 958 square kilometres of land that has the potential to produce both coking and thermal coal for the export market.

The Montrose Project is Located Near the Main North Queensland Road and Railway
The CuestaCoal Montrose coal deposit project is also benefitted by being located near the Bruce Highway, one of Queensland's major northern thoroughfares and the major electrified northern railway that runs sub- parallel to the highway. Coal mined from the project will be able to be transported by the railway the 230 kilometres to the port at Gladstone.

Montrose Project to Produce Similar Coal to That of the German Creek Measures
The Montrose Project has the potential to host coking coal equal to that mined from the German Creek Coal Measures, such as that known as the Back Creek Group. To this end CuestaCoal is currently carrying out a review of geophysical data to assist in scout drilling at the Montrose site that will be taking place in 2013.

CuestaCoal Includes the Montrose Project in its Diverse Portfolio
CuestaCoal Limited, the holder of the mining tenements covering the area surrounding the Montrose coal deposit, was listed on the ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) on May 4, 2012. Its initial objective was to complete an aggressive two year coal exploration, mine scoping and feasibility study program on the Moorlands, East Wandoan, Eastern Galilee and Amberley deposits. This has since been extended to include other deposits such as West Emerald and Montrose deposits. Three other deposits, Bauple, Eromanga and Callide are also being closely examined. The company has put together a diverse portfolio of both coking and thermal coal exploration prospects within the Galilee, Surat and Bowen Basin areas of Queensland covering a total of 11,000 square kilometres.

CuestaCoal's major shareholder is Chinese state owned energy investment company, Beijing Guoli. This shareholding is held through Beijing Guoli's wholly owned subsidiary company, Longluck Investments (Australia) Pty Ltd.

Montrose Project Coal Deposit Part of the Back Creek Group
The Montrose Project's deposition of the Bowen Basin Coal Measure is believed to exist as part of the Back Creek Group. However, past exploration has been limited with most of the focus being targeted towards the rather shallow seams besides the north coast railway. New Hope Coal had already defined a historic resource containing four million tonnes of coal located in the Styx Basin. Waratah Coal has been granted approval to further define and validate this specific resource. Exploration that has been carried out in recent times has defined two new coal seams at the base of the Styx Basin within the Montrose Project area.

There are numerous major coal mining companies carrying out exploration programs near the Montrose Project area, some of these include Waratah Coal, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. The coal mining development being proposed by Waratah Coal abuts the Montrose Project to its north.
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