Open cut coal scout drilling, West Wallsend, Newcastle region, New South Wales

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.