Elko coal project updates

Pacific American Coal Ltd (PAK) has reported that initial exploration at its Elko coal project in the East Kootenay Coal Basin of British Columbia, Canada, has confirmed 257.5 million t JORC resource.

The company has reported that this maiden resource statement delivers on the Exploration Target that it set nine months ago at the time of listing on the ASX, and confirms the company’s objective to identify large, high-quality coal assets close to infrastructure and services.

The JORC resource has been classified according to known geological reference points, and using the classification parameters set out by the Geological Survey of Canada Paper 88-21.

Coal quality at Elko ranges from containing hard coking coal specifications, as reported for Seam 3 in diamond drill hole FH1, to semi hard and metallurgical PCI coal.

According to PAK, three coal seams had been identified as having hard coking coal characteristics, and that a total of five seams had thicknesses ranging between 2.57 m – 5 m.

The company also indicated that there was potential for an initial small scale opencast operation. This would enable the company to generate cashflow to fund any future underground mine development, such as the predevelopment of a larger scale underground operation. The underground operation would target the high-quality metallurgical coal seams.

A subsequent exploration drill program at the Elko Project is the next phase of exploration for the company, so it can target coal quality and validate coal specifications across the Elko Coal Licences. PAK will seek additional sources of funding before starting the programme in order to assist in delivering a comprehensive exploration drilling programme.

Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/exploration-and-development/02112015/elko-coal-project-updates-3095/