Crown Minerals reports that L & M’s fifth permit at the bottom of the South Island, PEP 38235, covers 387 square kilometres around the central Southland town of Winton.

L&M already holds three lignite permits in southern Southland - PEP 38217 in the Ashers-Waituna area, PEP 38221 from Edendale to near Invercargill, and PEP 38216 at Mataura. It also holds another permit, PEP 38220, over the mainly sub-bituminous Ohai coalfield in western Southland.

The company has so far focused on southern coal resources with three additional permits in Otago, two over Maniototo lignite deposits and another over the Kaitangata sub-bituminous field.

L&M Coal Seam Gas now holds 10 of the 23 coalbed methane permits scattered around the country but centred on Waikato and Southland.

EnergyReview.net last week reported that the Energy Corporation of America was to start a six-well coalbed methane drilling program early next year through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Westech New Zealand, in exploration permits PEP 38612, 38613 and 38617, south of Hamilton, and 38616, south of Auckland.