30th Jan 2008 07:28
Churchill Mining plc30 January 2008 30 January 2008 AIM:CHL CHURCHILL MINING PLC ("Churchill" or "the Company") Tonnage increased at Churchill's East Kutai Coal Project Kalimantan- Indonesia Highlights • Outlined coal tonnage increased to between 135-140 million tonnes • JORC classification work to commence in Feb 2008 • Exploration and drilling programme expected to come in under budget • Churchill Research Note now available at www.churchillmining.com Following 1800 metres of infill drilling and other technical work in December2007 - January 2008 at the East Kutai Coal Project ("EKCP"), Churchill confirmsthat the Company's internal coal tonnage calculations have exceeded boardexpectations at the current stage of the programme. Internal modeling by the Company's geological team within the first sector ofthe initial drilling envelope of the EKCP, has identified an additional 50million tonnes of coal, bringing the total defined to date up from the 85Mt -90Mt calculated in December 2007 to between 135-140 Mt of coal. The updated geological data will be sent to independent coal geological expertsSRK for review and for inclusion in the compilation of an ongoing JORC compliantResource Statement, the work for which shall start in February 2008 and continuethroughout the remainder of the year. The first stage of the JORC Statement isstill expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2008. At this point in time thevolume calculations do not form a JORC compliant resource and should not beconsidered as such. The additional tonnages of coal interpreted have resulted from a series ofinfill drill holes completed since the last drilling announcement (12 December2007) that have intercepted the known coal seams closer to the surface in thewest, and added confidence to the position of the southern extensions of theseams, previously intersected in widely spaced drilling. The seams continue tothe south, with drill holes to date identifying two major coal seams (between8-14 metres in thickness) together with a number of lesser seams over a strikelength of more than 6 kilometres. The seams also appear to be more gentlydipping in the southern areas tested to date and the next programme of broadspaced drilling will continue to test at depth the outcropping coal occurrencesin the south. The consistent lateral extent of the coal seams, coupled with the ease ofcorrelating the major seams during interpretation, is expected to reduce thedrilling requirements to achieve the exploration targets set for 2008 ofdefining 500 million tonnes of JORC compliant coal Resources by the end of 2008,inclusive of a Mining Reserve of 100 million tonnes. Paul G. Mazak, Churchill's Managing Director, commented, "Whilst theclassification of the coal occurrences by SRK will guide the drillingrequirements through the next two quarters, the Company expects that the cost ofthe exploration and drilling at EKCP will be under budget due to theconsistency of the coal seams system". A Blue Oar Securities research note on Churchill, its projects and the coalmarket is available at www.churchillmining.com ENDS In accordance with the AIM Guidelines, Mr Brett Gunter, of PT GMT Services, isthe qualified person that has reviewed the technical information contained inthis release. Enquiries: Churchill Mining Plc Blue Oar Securities Parkgreen CommunicationsManaging Director - Paul G. Mazak Romil Patel Justine Howarth+61 (0)8 9388 0377 +44(0)20 7448 4000 +44 (0) 20 7851 [email protected] Olly Cairns +61 (0)8 6430 1631 Notes to editors Churchill Mining Plc listed on AIM in April 2005. South Woodie Woodie Given the increased prospectivity of South Woodie Woodie, and Churchill'sincreasing focus on its Indonesian coal and coal bed methane projects, theCompany sold 80% of the project to Australian company Spitfire Resources Limited("Spitfire"). Spitfire, which listed on the ASX on the 12th December 2007, willhave the option to purchase the remaining equity in the project after spendingAUD$1.5 million on exploration. The South Woodie Woodie project covers approximately 490 square kilometres inthe East Pilbara region of Western Australia, and sits approximately 400kmsoutheast of Port Hedland in the highly prospective Pilbara manganese province.Churchill has recently completed a heliborne versatile time-domainelectromagnetic geophysics programme and interpretive work, and a follow updipole-dipole IP survey which identified multiple drill targets. Sendawar - CBM The Sendawar Coal CBM project in Kalimantan, Indonesia, covers more than 800square kilometres of prospective ground and lies in close proximity to twooperating open-cut coal mines. The project is located approximately 50km fromthe Mahakam River. During Churchill's coal exploration programme, data collected during geophysicaland resitivity work, along with data collected from previous oil and gasexploration in the area; indicated that the area was highly prospective for CoalBed Methane. Churchill (70% of the CBM project) along with its Indonesianpartner RMU (30% of the CBM project) applied for and were granted Indonesia'sfirst CBM JEA license in September 2007. The CBM project has the potential tohost Gas-in-Place of 5.6 TCF. Churchill is currently conducting further studieson the CBM project before starting detailed field work. East Kutai Coal Project Churchill announced on 15 February 2007 that it had signed an ExclusivityAgreement with PT Techno Coal Utama to enable it to conduct due diligence workon the thermal coal project. In May 2007 Churchill announced a sales agreementhad been entered into to purchase a 75% interest in the Project, which has nowbeen finalised. Exploration and resource drilling continue at the project. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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