PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX- and Aim-listed coal developer Prairie Mining has refuted claims by the Polish Chief National Geologist, insisting that the company had government support to develop its Jan Karski coal mine.

Prairie said that the Chief National Geologist recently made a number of incorrect claims regarding the Jan Karski operation, including that Prairie was obligated to drill 23 boreholes over the concession.

The company told shareholders on Tuesday that under the granted exploration concession, Prairie was only required to complete the agreed work programme of seven cored boreholes, adding that these were completed well ahead of schedule.

The company added that its compliance was confirmed by government approval in mid-2015.

In 2015, the company extended the exploration concession at Jan Karski, which included the option of drilling additional boreholes, should international financing institutions or offtakers require further geological data. Some of these optional boreholes had been either completed or were in progress, the company said, but added that no legal requirement existed for Prairie to drill more than the completed seven boreholes in order to apply for a mining concession.

Prairie said that it remained on track to have its full application for a mining concession submitted during the period of the priority rights, with the major prerequisites of the application substantially advanced.

An environmental consent was also expected in the second half of 2017.

Meanwhile, a bankable feasibility study on the project was due for completion in September, and was being undertaken by strategic partner China Coal as part of its cooperation agreement.

The study will support China Coal’s engineering, procurement and construction contract to construct the Jan Karski mine, and will underpin a Chinese bank financing package.