More than half a billion tonnes.
A new Bowen Basin coal position is taking shape after Yari Resources entered a binding conditional agreement to acquire the 282Mt Arcadia Coal Project.
Combined with Yari’s existing 222.9Mt Rolleston South Coal Project, completion of the transaction would lift the company’s reported regional JORC coal resource base to more than 500 million tonnes.
The current significance is not near-term mine construction. It is the emergence of a much larger district-scale resource position that could influence future exploration, mine planning, infrastructure studies and longer-term project development around Rolleston.
The combined figure materially changes the scale of Yari Resources’ regional position.
Rolleston South is currently reported at 222.9Mt. Arcadia adds another reported 282Mt.
If the acquisition completes, Yari moves from a standalone coal project to a broader district-scale resource position across two separate but regionally proximate Bowen Basin assets.
Yari is building a district-scale Rolleston coal position
Yari’s existing Rolleston South project forms the foundation of its Central Queensland strategy.
The project comprises EPC 2318 and EPC 2327 and contains a reported total coal resource of approximately 222.9Mt, including 33.7Mt classified as Indicated.
The proposed Arcadia acquisition adds another large resource approximately 24 kilometres away.
The projects do not overlap and remain separate tenure areas, but their proximity gives Yari a larger regional platform from which to assess exploration priorities, mine-development concepts and long-term infrastructure requirements.
Yari describes the transaction as a move to transform Rolleston South from a standalone project into the foundation of a broader Rolleston-district opportunity.
Arcadia adds 282Mt of reported JORC coal resources
The Arcadia Coal Project includes EPC 1772 as the primary exploration permit together with EPC 1054 and EPC 1042.
The reported JORC 2012 Mineral Resource for EPC 1772 totals approximately 282Mt, comprising:
Yari says the resource occurs within Permian-age Bandanna Formation coal measures.
Existing technical work indicates relatively simple, gently dipping stratigraphy within the resource area, although substantial further technical review will be required before development assumptions can be firmed up.
Historical work has also suggested potential for export thermal coal and semi-soft metallurgical applications.
Resource scale does not mean construction is imminent
Historical resource assessment indicates portions of Arcadia may potentially suit open-cut mining methods, subject to significant further technical, environmental, economic and regulatory work.
There is currently no final investment decision, mine-development commitment or construction program announced for Arcadia.
The acquisition is structured so major payments depend on project success
One of the more interesting features of the Arcadia transaction is how little of the consideration is tied to the initial acquisition stage.
Yari has structured much of the value around future development milestones and commercial production.
Additional milestone payments are linked to events such as increasing or converting resources, grant of a Mineral Development Licence and grant of a Mining Lease.
Four $5 million success payments would become payable following first commercial production and its first three anniversaries.
The transaction structure reinforces the current stage of the project: the large future consideration only becomes relevant if Arcadia successfully advances toward mining.
The transaction has not completed yet
Although the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement is binding, completion remains conditional.
Requirements include Yari shareholder approval, relevant regulatory approvals and completion of the associated capital raising.
Yari has received commitments for a placement of up to approximately $2.2 million, with the funds intended to support advancement of both Rolleston South and Arcadia together with general working capital.
The company currently intends to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting around 11 September 2026 to seek approvals associated with the transaction and capital raising.
Only after the relevant conditions are satisfied or waived would the Arcadia acquisition complete.
What would need to happen before Arcadia becomes a mine?
The Arcadia Coal Project is much earlier in its development cycle than an approved mining expansion or restart.
That means the contractor pipeline should be viewed in stages.
Yari expressly states that, outside its minimum exploration expenditure and tenure obligations, it retains discretion over the nature and timing of future activities and is not obliged to commence mining or production.
Arcadia therefore remains a future project pipeline rather than a current construction-procurement opportunity.
Near-term contractor exposure is more likely to start with studies than construction
The distinction between current-stage and future-stage opportunity is important.
At this stage, the activities most directly aligned with project advancement are likely to centre on technical investigation and approvals rather than mine construction.
Infrastructure access will matter if development studies progress
Yari already highlights infrastructure access as an important feature of its Rolleston South position, which lies around 40 kilometres from the Blackwater rail system.
Future district-level studies will need to examine how any eventual Arcadia development could interact with regional transport, coal handling and export infrastructure.
The acquisition strengthens Yari’s position around Rolleston
Arcadia sits in the southern Bowen Basin within the broader Rolleston coal district.
Yari places the project around 60 kilometres north of Injune and 85 kilometres south of Rolleston, while Rolleston South lies approximately 15–20 kilometres south of Rolleston.
This gives Yari two substantial resource positions within the same broad district without suggesting that the projects are one contiguous mining development.
The regional concentration could allow future exploration, infrastructure and development work to be assessed increasingly at a district level rather than asset by asset.
Local firms can be discovered through the BBI Central Highlands Mining & Industrial Directory and the dedicated Rolleston business directory .
Bowen Basin ownership changes remain worth watching
The Yari transaction fits within a broader period of asset consolidation, acquisitions and portfolio repositioning across Queensland coal.
Other recent Bowen Basin transactions include the proposed acquisition and potential restart of Bowen Coking Coal’s Burton assets , as well as the Gregory Crinum transaction .
At the same time, investment sentiment across the coal sector continues to be influenced by market conditions, project economics and Queensland’s royalty settings.
Related context is available in the Queensland coal royalty review coverage .
The 500Mt-plus position increases regional scale, but Arcadia remains early-stage
Completion of the Arcadia acquisition would increase Yari’s reported Rolleston-district resource position from 222.9Mt at Rolleston South to more than 500Mt across the two separate assets.
Resource scale should not be confused with project readiness.
Arcadia remains an exploration-stage asset within a conditional acquisition process. Technical review, resource work, coal-quality assessment, approvals, development studies and commercial decisions would all be required before mine construction could be considered.
Near-term milestones are therefore transaction completion, exploration activity, technical studies, resource updates and evidence of a defined development concept.
If those stages progress successfully, the combined scale of Yari’s Rolleston-district position could eventually increase the relevance of infrastructure sharing, mine planning and regional supply-chain demand.
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