KAL Energy reports increase in E. Kalimantan coal resource
Monday, December 1 2008 - 02:39 PM WIB
141 Mt has been upgraded to Indicated Resource, with the remaining 107 Mt in the Inferred category, the company said.
The coal is sub-bituminous, has low ash and very low sulfur content, and is of medium calorific value, it reported.
The Graha seam thickness ranges from 0.5 meters to 8.8 meters, with an average of 5.0 meters across the concession, it added.
Three other seams have been identified, but are not included in the resource estimate due to insufficient data on seam geometry and quality.
William Bloking, Executive Chairman and President of KAL Energy, Inc. said, "We are delighted to report not only a significant increase in the overall size of the Graha resource, but also that about 60 percent of the resource has been moved from the inferred category to the indicated category. Once we receive our exploration license extension and the necessary Forestry Department permit, we plan to conduct Phase II of our drilling program on Block 24 in order to obtain the quality and other data necessary to move resources into the reserves category, and to update project economics and mining plans."
"In parallel with our Phase II drilling campaign, we are also shifting our focus to converting the exploration license into an exploitation license. Currently we anticipate lodging our application before the end of the calendar year in support of our goal of receiving the exploitation license by the end of May 2009," said Bloking.
KAL Energy, Inc, through its wholly owned subsidiary of Thatcher Mining Pte. Ltd., has economic rights to two coal concessions near the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan, one of which has a JORC Compliant resource of 248 million metric tons.
KAL Energy has commenced exploration programs and feasibility studies on these concessions to determine their commercial viability.(alex)