Coalspur Mines Limited (ASX:CPL) Quarterly Report For The Period Ended 31 December 2009
Perth, Feb 2, 2010 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Board of Coalspur Mines Limited (
ASX:CPL) (PINK:CSPZF) is pleased to present its December 2009 quarterly report. During the quarter significant progress was made in developing the Company's coal resource base and advancing the scoping study on the Hinton Coal Project ("HCP" or "Project").
Going Forward
The Company has an exciting quarter ahead, with a substantial amount of activity scheduled, including:
- Results from the scoping study on the Project, which is currently being finalised, are expected to be released in February 2010.
- Additional Coal Resource estimates for the Company's Coalspur Project and newly acquired leases are expected to be completed progressively during the March 2010 quarter.
- A two phase drilling and coal testing program will commence on the Project. The first phase of this program consists of 10 core holes and is expected to commence in early February 2010.
- Baseline studies will commence during the March 2010 quarter which will form part of the Environmental Impact Assessment report for the Project.
CANADIAN COAL PROJECTS
Hinton Coal Project
The Hinton Coal Project ("HCP") is a large scale, open pit potential, thermal coal project located adjacent to the main line of the CN Rail in Alberta, Canada.
The leases comprising the HCP cover approximately 4,976 hectares and together contain a JORC Coal Resource of approximately 467 million tonnes of low sulphur, high volatile, bituminous C thermal coal. The HCP is split into Hinton East and Hinton West. Hinton East comprises six coal leases covering approximately 3,984 hectares and Hinton West comprises 2 coal leases and 3 coal lease applications covering 992 hectares.
The Coal Resource and associated coal quality assessment have confirmed the HCP's potential to deliver a large scale, open pit, thermal coal operation producing high quality coal suitable for export to lucrative Pacific Rim market.
Coalspur Project and Additional Coal Leases
The Coalspur Project ("CSP") comprises coal leases covering an area of approximately 19,671 hectares located approximately 6km south west of the CSP and includes the additional coal leases acquired by the Company on 3 December 2009 in the Alberta governments public offering of crown coal lands.
The CSP was subject to previous drilling by Denison Mines Ltd in the 1980's. The considerable historical drilling and studies undertaken are expected to provide a solid foundation to assess the coal contained on the leases in accordance with the JORC Code in early to mid 2010.
Importantly, the proximity to the HCP allows for the CSP to leverage off potential infrastructure that will be developed closer to the town of Hinton and the main line of the CN Railway.
Coal Resource Estimate
The combined Coal Resource estimates for the HCP totals 467 million tonnes of low sulphur, high volatile bituminous C thermal coal. Significantly, the Measured and Indicated Coal Resources of 421 million tonnes represent 90% of the total Coal Resource. A resource estimate for the CSP is currently being undertaken with completion expected in the March 2010 quarter.
Table 1: HCP JORC Coal Resources------------------------------------------------------------- Measured Indicated Measured& Inferred Measured, (Mt) (Mt) Indicated(Mt) (Mt) Indicated & Inferred(Mt)-------------------------------------------------------------Hinton East 210.8 85.3 296.1 43.1 339.2Hinton West 87.6 37.9 125.5 2.6 128.1Total CoalResource 298.4 123.2 421.6 45.7 467.3-------------------------------------------------------------
The Col Resource estimates have been based on considerable drilling and exploration activities which were undertaken on the HCP by Esso in the 1980's and prepared by respected Canadian independent technical consultants Moose Mountain Technical Services ("MMTS") and is reported in accordance with the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' ("JORC Code") and National Instrument 43-101 - 'Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects' ("NI 43-101").
MMTS have also undertaken an indicative assessment of coal quality based on historical core hole information and coal qualities of nearby mines including Coal Valley and Obed Mountain. Based on this information MMTS has indicated that the washed clean coal product could have the following characteristics with a forecast yield of at least 50%:
Table 2: HCP Washed Clean Coal Quality-------------------------------------------------------Coal Characteristic Gross As Received Air Dried Basis-------------------------------------------------------Moisture 11.5% 4.5%Ash Content 11.1% 11.9%Volatile Matter 31.2% 33.7%Fixed Carbon 46.2% 49.9%Sulphur 0.3% 0.3%Calorific Value 5,758 kcal/kg 6,212 kcal/kg-------------------------------------------------------
Scoping Study
The Company is continuing to work towards the completion of a scoping study on the HCP.
The study is focused on the existing defined JORC resource on the HCP and will be completed by international mining industry consultants Wardrop Engineering Inc. ("Wardrop").
Wardrop is an internationally recognised multi-disciplined engineering and consulting firm that provides innovative solutions for the natural resource management, energy, and infrastructure markets globally. Wardrop is a subsidiary of Tetra Tech, a leading provider of consulting, engineering, program management, construction and technical services. The combined companies have more than 10,000 employees worldwide and capabilities that span the entire project lifecycle. Wardrop has provided services to a number of major international coal companies.
Wardrop's scoping study will examine the following key areas:
- Mine Planning and Production;
- Coal Handling and Processing;
- Infrastructure and Ancillary Facilities;
- Environmental & Regulatory Considerations;
- Capital Cost Estimates;
- Operating Cost Estimates;
- Project Development Schedule; and
- Financial Analysis.
Funds raised from the placement are being used to accelerate the development of the Company's Canadian coal projects through the completion of field programs and mining studies on the projects, and to provide general working capital.
Thermal Coal Markets
During the quarter thermal coal demand strengthened significantly in the Asia Pacific region with thermal coal prices approaching US$100/t. Thermal coal spot prices (based on globalCOAL's Weekly NEWC Index) increased from US$69.85/t (2 October 2009) to US$86.00/t at (25 December 2009). The spot price has continued to strengthen in January 2010, and is currently US$99.26/t (22 January 2010) (source: globalCOAL).
This increased demand has been a result of various factors including a revival in Asian thermal coal market due mainly to cold weather in the Northern hemisphere with conditions bringing about coal shortages in the growing Chinese market.
For the complete Coalspur Mines Quarterly Report for the period ended 31 December 2009, please click the link below:
http://www.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/62199-ASX-CPL-478473.pdf
About Coalspur Mines Limited
Coalspur Mines Limited (ASX:CPL) (TSE:CPT) is a coal development company with approximately 55,000 hectares of coal leases located within the Hinton region of Alberta, Canada. Coalspur's flagship project is Vista, which covers approximately 10,000 hectares and provides a large scale, surface mineable, thermal coal development. Vista is located adjacent to CN Rail's main line, which is suitable for the transport of coal to deepwater ports on Canada's west coast. Coalspur has secured a port allocation agreement with Ridley Terminals Inc., which is essential to the logistics supply chain necessary to export coal from Vista to the growing demand from the Asia Pacific countries.
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