Bounty Mining has acquired the assets of Caledon Coal and Blackwater Coal, including Cook Colliery and the Minyango coking coal project.

Bounty will settle the acquisitions for a total of $31.5 million, with $6.7 million paid on completion and the balance deferred and paid over 18 months.

In a separate but related transaction, Bounty said it had acquired the assets associated with the Cook Colliery that had remained the property of Glencore subsidiary Cook Resource Mining for a total of $10 million in deferred payments.

This acquisition places Bounty in full ownership and control of the assets related to Cook Colliery, including the related mining lease, rail loop, Glencore washplant and coal marketing agreement.

Bounty is expecting to take possession of the projects in late November 2017.

Former owner Caledon was placed into voluntary administration in May 2017 following a water inundation event that fully submerged the longwall at the Cook Colliery, near Blackwater . The mine is in care and maintenance.

Bounty said it would bring the Cook Colliery back into production, moving to a more flexible and efficient bord and pillar style mining operation rather than a longwall operation.

Coal production is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2018 and Bounty aims to progressively increase production to a total 1.8 million tonnes of product over 12 months.

Bounty said the transaction would provide the company with near term revenue from the Cook Colliery and a mid-term development project in Minyango, for which a mining lease has already been granted.

Bounty will continue with development of the Wongai project, but this has a longer-term horizon.

Caledon was placed into voluntary administration in May 2017 following a water inundation event that fully submerged the longwall at the Cook Colliery and the mine is in care and maintenance.