MetroCoal achieves 520MT initial thermal coal JORC Resource at Dalby West

Saturday, 10 Dec 2011

MetroCoal has established a maiden JORC Resource of 520 million tonnes thermal coal for the Dalby West project, following completion of its 2011 exploration drilling program.

Dalby West is located at the south eastern end of the Surat Basin in Queensland and MetroCoal’s total Surat Basin underground coal resources now equal 2,883 million tonnes. The resource is based on using underground mining methods to extract the coal seams.

MetroCoal's extensive coal exploration tenements in the Surat Coal Basin cover 4,000 square kilometres and are down dip of well known resources including Wandoan, Elimatta, Cameby Downs and Worri.

Based on the geological information from the historic drilling programs and its own drilling results, MetroCoal expects to identify a coal JORC Inferred Resource of at least 2 billion tonnes within the next two years for conventional underground coal mining.

Modelling has identified the Macalister Upper Seam as being continuous and correlateable within the polygon area. This seam has a minimum thickness of 2.5 metres and an average thickness of over 4.5 metres and has the best potential for mining as a single section.

Several other seams including the Kogan and Macalister Lower Seams were identified.

Coal quality analysis was consistent with expectations of the Macalister Upper Seam which is a low sulphur medium ash thermal coal.

On November 18 MetroCoal and joint venture partner SinoCoal Resources achieved another milestone with the increased Inferred Resource for the Columboola Project in the Surat Basin to nearly 1.3 billion tonnes of thermal coal, up from 540 million tonnes previously.

(sourced Proactiveinvestors)