Brisbane, April 3, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The board of Bowen Energy limited (ASX: BWN) is pleased to announce that drilling has commenced on EPC1045 "Shotover". The drilling rig supplied by JD Drilling has commenced drilling at the southern end of the lease targeting coal seams of the Bandana Formation (Rangal Coal Measure Equivalent) on the eastern limb of the Purbrook Anticline.
EPC1045 (Shotover) Project Background
Potential for extensive coking coal accumulations contained in the area of the Shotover Project (EPC1045) have been indicated by extrapolation from adjacent coal mines and exploration areas, and from the petroleum and CBM exploration wells in the surrounding area.
Potential coal quality and coal thickness are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a coal resource at this stage.
The project is considered by Bowen Energy Ltd to contain extensive areas with the potential to host underground coking coal. With just about all of the potential coking coal areas in the Bowen Basin covered with MLs, MDLs, and EPCs, the remaining target areas for coking coal within the Bowen Basin lies at depths of +300m. These coal seams will contain gas and may be subject to geotechnical challenges such as thrust fault zones and residual stresses. The Late Permian Rangal Coal Measures are found in the central Bowen Basin of Central Queensland. The Bandanna Formation is a stratigraphic equivalent in the southern Bowen Basin.
Exploration within EPC 1045 is directed towards coal reserves that fall within the prime coking coal range of 1.0 to 1.2% coal reflectance zone and 300 to 800 metres depth range in the Bandanna Formation.
Previous exploration in the area of EPC 1045 comprises petroleum exploration drilling, seismic exploration for both petroleum and coal bed methane (CBM) and some wide spaced early coal drilling.
The geological setting of the region is well understood with The Bandanna Formation overlain by the outcropping Rewan Formation and which in turn overlie the Burngrove Formation. The Bandanna Formation is the formation of interest in the area containing equivalent units to the main coal seams worked in the Blackwater region ( including the Blackwater, South Blackwater and Cook Mines) for high quality medium to low ash coals suitable for prime coking coal, high quality PCI coal, anthracite and semianthracite, and high energy thermal coals.
The general sequence of coal seams in the Bandanna Formation persists southwards and dip gently to the east into the Mimosa Syncline from the Comet Ridge. Up to 5 coal seams generally including 2 major seams interpreted as equivalents of the Blackwater named coal seam sequence (in descending order) of Aries, Castor, Pollux (Argo) Orion and Pisces can be identified either individually or as thicker coalesced coal beds from regional drilling.
The composite petroleum well logs of Sunlight 1 and Humboldt indicate coal seams logged in the Bandanna Formation. These are confirmed by density & gamma logs for the Humboldt well, and SP and Resistivity logs for the Sunlight well. The detail from these older exploration holes does not allow specific coal seam correlations. However they show the persistence of the main coal seams at thicknesses of more than 2.0 metres across parts of the project area, although some coal seam splitting and coalescing is to be expected. The geophysical down hole logs from the petroleum exploration wells also demonstrate a number of coal seams with thicknesses in the order of 2.5 to 5.0 metres which would form a suitable height for underground mining.
The project covers the interpreted coal rank range of 0.95% to 1.2% at the shallowest depths available in the area as defined by available coal reflectance data. These coal rank data are contained in a series of reports prepared by J. Beeston of the GSQ. The primary target zone is the 1.0 to 1.2% coal reflectance zone in the Rangal Coal Measures/Bandanna Formation which is representative of prime coking coal. Coal in this range typically contains a volatile matter content range of 26% to 29% depending on ash content.
Because the coal rank is also increasing to the east into the Mimosa Syncline, coal reflectance and coking quality will be increasing with depth.
Bowen Energy Ltd is well equipped to tackle the technical requirements of exploring the region for underground coal resources and in their assessment and evaluation.
NOTE:
The information in this report that relates to exploration results (and mineral resources) is based on information compiled by Mark Sheppard MSc, who is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Mr S.W Hayes who is a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Sheppard, MSc, MAusIMM, MAAG is a geologist with twenty years exploration experience in a number of different commodities and geological regions with in Australia. He is a full time employee of Bowen Energy Limited. Mr Sheppard has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, mineral resources and ore reserves'..
Mr S.W. (Bill) Hayes, BSc, METM (Qld), FAusIMM, MGSA, FIQ, consulting geologist and Principal of S.W Hayes & Associates, Geological and Mining Consultants has some 38 years industry experience in mining operations, exploration, mineral development and beneficiation, project management, and project evaluation. He has worked intensively in coal and Coal Bed Methane since 1971 in Queensland and New South Wales. Mr Hayes has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, mineral resources and ore reserves'.
Mr Sheppard and Mr Hayes consent to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears
Contact
Kevin Nichol
Managing Director
Bowen Energy Limited
TEL: +61-7-3839-8818
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