Gloucester Coal says makes major coal discovery

PERTH, May 1 (Reuters) - Australian coal producer Gloucester Coal Ltd (GCL.AX) said Thursday that it discovered a significant new coking coal discovery in the Gloucester Basin of New South Wales state, about 2.5 kilometres from its coal plant.

It did not give details on the expected size of the discovery, but said that drilling results have shown that about 70 to 75 percent of the coal could be extracted.

"We expect further drilling over the coming months will enable us to delineate resources and therefore increase standard reserves and resources as a result of this success," Chief Executive Officer Rob Lord said in a statement.

He added the coal will enable Gloucester to increase the proportion of coking coal in its sales mix to take advantage of higher prices.

About 50 percent of the product would be an 8 percent ash semi-hard coking coal with a sulphur content of less than 1 percent, Gloucester Coal said.

Shares in Gloucester Coal have jumped 49 percent since the start of the year, thanks to soaring coal prices. The stock ended flat at A$9.84 on Wednesday. (Reporting by Fayen Wong)