The Ashton Coal Project is a coalmine located 14 km northwest of Singleton in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales. The project includes an open cut coal mine, an underground coal mine, a Coal Handling and Preparation Plant and a rail siding. The project will be developed in a staged manner, with construction initially commencing in September 2003.

The project was designated an integrated, State Significant Development and received development consent by the Minister for Planning on 11 October 2002 pursuant to the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The development consent includes requirements for the development of 22 Environmental Management Plans in consultation with 18 government agencies.

The project is being developed by Felix Resources, a privately owned Australian incorporated company with extensive experience in coal mining, as demonstrated by the following projects:

• The Ashford open cut mine near Inverell in northern NSW.
• The development of the Ulan open cut an underground coal mine, near Mudgee in western NSW, including the construction of the Sandy Hollow Railway Line.
• The North Goonyella Mine in the Bowen Basin area of central Queensland, approximately 150 km west of Mackay.
• The management and expansion of the United Colliery in the Hunter Valley,
• The design, commissioning and operation of the 8 Mtpa Pipawar open cut coal mine and coal preparation plant, located in Bihar in India.
• The development of the Ultra Clean Coal (UCC) project in Cessnock that produces a new clean solid fuel that has ash levels between 0.1% and 0.2% and can be directly fired into a gas turbine, reducing greenhouse emissions by up to 24%.

Felix Resources intends to develop the Ashton Coal Project with the same high level of innovation and expertise that it has applied to each of the projects that it has been involved in, complying with all conditions of the development consent, the Environmental Protection Licence and other licences and approvals. The development schedule for the project is as follows:

• Commence construction September 2003;
• Commence open cut mining operations early 2004;
• Commence coal shipments 1Q 2004, and
• Commence underground mining operations in 2005, or as otherwise dictated by the market.

Two significant features of the project to date are the high level of consultation and cooperation with the local community in the adjacent village of Camberwell; and the installation of a real-time environmental monitoring system to ensure that mining operations comply with the conditions of the Environmental Protection Licence.