Pike chief executive Gordon Ward was quick to point out the recent one-hole test drill did not prove the extent of any new resource but was a "positive and encouraging" result.
The seam's potential has been known for some time, with a hole and ground sampling 20 years ago estimating eight million tonnes of recoverable coal.
Pike broke through to the Brunner seam face late last year after spending two years drilling a 2.3km tunnel (dotted line in diagram) upward into the Paparoa Range. It expects to begin commercial hydro-sluicing in coming months, producing an estimated 160,000 tonnes for export by the end of June.
Over the next 18 years, Pike estimates it will produce one million tonnes of the coal, a key ingredient in producing steel, annually for export through Lyttelton.
Pike drilled to a depth of 250m below the Brunner seam and struck three separate hard coking coal seams, respectively 2.2m, 3.4m and 5.4m thick, and expects test results in a few weeks on the quality of each seam.
Earlier this month, it completed a 108m ventilation shaft, part of the eight-month ramp up to full production, with first exports expected in April.
