Interim Financial Report for the Half Year Ended 31 December 2013
Perth, Mar 14, 2014 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The principal activity of Atrum Coal NL (
ASX:ATU) (ATRCF:OTCMKTS) is the exploration and development of its flagship high grade and ultra-high grade anthracite coal asset, the Groundhog Anthracite Project ("Groundhog") located in British Columbia, Canada. The Company also has three other earlier stage exploration projects, all prospective for metallurgical coal including semi-anthracite, being the Naskeena Coal Project, the Bowron River Coal Project and the Peace River Coal Project, also located in British Columbia, Canada.
The Company's flagship Groundhog project boasts a JORC (2004) compliant Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 1,567Mt.
The Naskeena Coal Project has an exploration target of between 200Mt and 250Mt of anthracite to semi-anthracite rank, as verified by independent consultants, AMC Consultants, in accordance with Section 17 and Section 38 of the JORC Guidelines 2012. This Exploration Target has been estimated using an estimate of 5 - 7 coal seams, with an average thickness of 1 m in an area of 4,457 hectares, equivalent to the area of the Jet Gold licenses and an RD of 1.6 gm/cc, discounted by 35%. Historical exploration completed at the Naskeena project includes 8 trench samples taken in 2006 together with historical drilling completed by Jet Gold, which drilled 16 diamond core drill holes in 2007 and a further 9 diamond core drill holes in 2008.
The Company is currently progressing with the development of its Groundhog project which is undergoing a Pre-Feasibility Study, due for completion during early Q2 2014. In addition the Company will be lodging its bulk sample permit application for Groundhog during early Q2 2014 which outlines plans to extract up to 100,000t of anthracite. Atrum Coal seeks to produce high grade and ultra-high grade anthracite as well as ultra-low volatile PCI for supply to the export markets of China, Korea and Japan.
The coal quality analytical results received from the 2013 PFS / Infill drilling program are considered excellent and are in line with 2012 results. The wash yields on the coal produced at Groundhog range from 57% to 80% for a range of ultra-high grade and high grade anthracite (both lumps and fines) products and ultra-low volatile PCI specifications.
Targeting a sub-10% ash anthracite lumps and fines product mix for the bulk sample results in an average yield of +57% with very low inherent moisture, volatile matter less than 5%, fixed carbon in excess of 84%, low sulphur (~0.6%) and low phosphorus.
The Company remains on track to release its maiden reserve for the Groundhog project following the completion of the PFS.
To view the full Half Year Report to Dec 2013, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/76755-ASX-ATU-670846.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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