HPU will be responsible for openpit overburden removal, the provision of the required mining fleet and associated equipment, and coal hauling from in-pit to a near out-of-pit intermediate stockpile facility.

Cokal told shareholders on Monday that the appointment of HPU represented a significant milestone for the near-term development of BBM into a coal mine producing premium export quality coking coal and pulverised coal injection products.

Cokal holds a 60% interest in the BBM project, which is expected to produce at a rate of two-million tonnes a year of saleable coal from its third year of production.