A mineral exploration licence consisting of three separate subareas (A, B & C) was granted on 22/4/2010 to Energy Exploration for an initial period of 12 months, during which time the company's primary goal was to assess the potential for finding additional coal resources in proximity to the Lock Coal deposit. To achieve this the licensee's consultants obtained relevant historical geoscientific data and initiated a review that would identify regions warranting new exploration field work. The Lock Coal deposit occurs within Jurassic sediments deposited within the Polda Basin, an almost fully concealed structural half-graben which extends east-west across the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, including westwards out onto the continental shelf. A major fault zone bounds the northern side of the basin, and is the inferred locus of where conditions favourable for coal formation existed during the Jurassic and Tertiary. Energy Exploration's EL 4472 Subareas B & C, each located about 16 km west of Lock township, were taken up in order to be able to expand the region of evaluation to the west-northwest and east-southeast of the known Lock coal resource (currently held under EL 4142). However, the third licence Subarea A lies about 10 km north of Subarea B and beyond the bounding fault to the Polda Basin. It is not contiguous with Subarea B because of an intervening nature reserve. It was taken up by Energy Exploration on the basis of historical reports of lignite being encountered in drillholes. As such, it has a different geological setting. The assessment made to date has determined that licence Subarea A has low coal potential, whereas Subareas B and C require further consideration. Close examination of the drillhole data for Subarea A, plus inspection of stored samples from two previous deep holes in the centre of this area, found little evidence of any significant development of either Jurassic or Tertiary coals, lignite or carbonaceous strata, and so it was decided to relinquish all of this outlying ground.