A total of 22 "testing and defining" rotary cored drill holes were drilled by the Bureau and J. McD. Royle Ltd., contractor to the Bureau, during the prospecting for reserves of open-cut coal in the Tomago Stage of the Upper Coal Measures near Buchanan. These 22 holes involved 3640 ft. of drilling and indicated possible reserves of 4,200,000 tons of coal suitable for mining by underground and open cut methods. The geology of the area, and the operations carried out, including mining, logging, sampling, analysis, and surveying, are discussed. The results of the drilling programme are shown in the accompanying maps, and graphic and bore logs.

The area investigated is to the south west of the West Wallsend Extended Colliery near the township of Killingworth within Portion 34, Parish of Teralba, County Northumberland. Drilling was carried out for the Joint Coal Board as part of the programme of the proposed Barnsley Australasian Open Cut, to locate the Great Northern and Fassifern Seams which outcrop at the base of the hills. Five bores were sunk. Bores BMR 1 to 4 penetrated the Fassifern Seam.

A total of 25 rotary cored holes were drilled by the Bureau in Portion 49, Parish of Wallarah, County Northumberland, 2 miles south of Swansea. Approximately 1400 ft. of "test and define" drilling proved a possible 200,000 tons of coal suitable to be open cut under an average overburden of 6/1 ratio. The initial drilling programme showed a rolling seam. After surveying, further holes were drilled to locate the displacement which is 10 to 15 ft. in the S.W. corner of the area. No other obstacles are known which would hinder immediate working of the area. The lower split of the Wallarah Seam was tested in three holes but was found to be too thin to warrant further prospecting. The geology of the area is discussed in this report, and the results of the drilling programme are shown in the accompanying graphic and bore logs.

Three widely separated scout holes totalling 566 feet of drilling were drilled to investigate the possibilities of open-cut mining sites on the Australasian Seam immediately to the west and south-west of West Wallsend, a suburb of the city of Newcastle. Only one hole intersected the Australasian Seam. This hole indicated that the seam was much banded and of inferior quality - below present open-cut coal standard. Analyses suggested that it may be possible to mine a section of coal 8 feet 7 inches thick excluding non-coal bands, and that this coal would have an ash content of about 29% and calorific value of 10,000 B.Th.U. per lb. after the exclusion of bands.

During late 1951 and early 1952 the Bureau, while searching for open-cut coal in New South Wales, prospected the Big Ben and Donaldson's Seams in the Bloomfield Area which is 3.5 miles south of East Maitland. Drilling involving 21 holes and totalling about 2400 ft. revealed that although the actual coal of the seams was quite good in parts, the seams themselves were subject to marked bending, thinning, and splitting. This not only severely limits open-cut prospects to small areas but will make mining difficult. In the contiguous East Bloomfield, Stoney Pinch and Thornton Areas an additional 16 holes with a total footage of 2,250 feet were drilled and indicated that the seams were characterised by the same rapid variation and offer no better possibilities than the main Bloomfield Area. Operations, including mining, coal analyses, logging, and surveying are discussed. Bore logs and the results of coal sample analyses are appended to this report.