Regional Drilling Success Supports Atrum Multi-Mine Strategy
Perth, Oct 16, 2014 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Atrum Coal NL ("Atrum" or the "Company") (
ASX:ATU) (ATRCF:OTCMKTS) is pleased to announce that it has intersected significant net anthracite in this year's regional drilling program at the Company's flagship Groundhog Anthracite Project ("Groundhog"), located in British Columbia, Canada.
Executive Chairman, Mr James Chisholm commented:
"Regional drilling has confirmed significant anthracite on both the eastern side of the rail-subgrade and at the southern-most part of Groundhog anthracite field in previously untested areas. Initial results suggest comparable geology and anthracite quality to that of the Groundhog North area. Atrum has secured an enormous anthracite field capable of supporting multiple mines."
REGIONAL DRILLING SUCCESS AT GROUNDHOG
In addition to bulk sample and mine portal definition drilling at Groundhog North (PFS Mine) conducted during 2014, the Company completed a regional exploration program on newly granted coal licences at Groundhog. Drill hole locations were designed to expand the global anthracite resource and identify suitable locations for subsequent mine development.
A total of eight regional drill holes were completed and the average net anthracite thickness intersected was 20.5m. The drill holes were located outside the current resource envelope and the results suggest a material increase in JORC resources is possible.
Initial results from six drill holes on the eastern side of the rail-subgrade at Groundhog North East, indicate a high grade anthracite deposit of similar size and quality to that at Groundhog North. This area has the potential to support a standalone mine (Mine II). The area is located adjacent to the railsubgrade which connects to the rail head at Minaret. A rail upgrade would enable product to be railed direct to Prince George and then onto export terminals at Prince Rupert or Vancouver. Alternatively, product could be trucked to the port of Stewart.
Two drill holes located in the southern portion of Groundhog (immediately west of 2012 drill holes with large anthracite intersections) described as Groundhog South, also indicate potential for an additional mine development (Mine III).
Mine II and Mine III would benefit from surface infrastructure and mine processing facilities constructed as part of the development and operation of Groundhog North. Conceptually, additional mines could be constructed with lower CAPEX, and OPEX savings could be generated across all three sites.
The regional drilling results supports Atrum's geological thesis that the existing resource envelope continues in an east/west and north/south direction within its Groundhog anthracite field tenure.
A WORLD CLASS MULTI MINE VISION
The executive team has worked diligently over the last three years, consolidating surrounding tenure, piece by piece. The Company is now in a strategic position where it owns 100% of what is believed to be all the entire shallow anthracite-bearing tenure in the Groundhog Coalfield, the largest known high grade and ultra-high grade anthracite deposit globally. Atrum has a long term vision to become the world's largest producer of high grade and ultra-high grade anthracite.
While the Company's primary focus is on near-term production at Groundhog North, to follow up on the success of the regional exploration program, it will revise the global JORC compliant resource for the Groundhog Coalfield in due course. The Company also intends on releasing details of its plan for the western portion of its Groundhog Coalfield tenure (Panorama Anthracite Project), where it aims to build on its multi-mine strategy.
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http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-ATU-695069.pdf
About Atrum Coal Limited
Atrum Coal Limited (ASX:ATU) is a metallurgical coal developer. The Company flagship asset is the 100%-owned Elan Hard Coking Coal Project in southern Alberta, Canada. Elan hosts large-scale, shallow, thick, hard coking coal (HCC) deposits with a current JORC Resource Estimate of 298 Mt (70 Mt Indicated and 228 Mt Inferred). Comprehensive quality testing of Elan South coal on samples from the 2018 exploration program, combined with review of substantial historical testwork data for the broader Elan Project, has confirmed Tier 1 HCC quality.
The initial focus for development is the Elan South area, which is located approximately 13 km from an existing rail line with significant excess capacity, providing direct rail access to export terminals in Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Elan South shares its southern boundary with Riversdale Resources Grassy Mountain Project, which is in the final permitting stage for a 4.5 Mtpa open-cut HCC operation. Around 30km to the west, Teck Resources operates five mines (the Elk Valley complex) producing approximately 25 Mtpa of premium HCC for the seaborne market.
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